Fallen
by November Rain 19
Summary: The digidestined must face a new evil. While battling this new evil, they also make a new friend. Can they survive this new threat to the digital world? This is also my first fanfic.


Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I'm merely borrowing them for a little while. Trust me, I'll return them in the same condition:) No profit was made, but there was a lot of fun to be had.   
  
Author's Comments: OK, I know there is a Gryphonmon Digimon Battle Card (Series 2), but the character of the same name in this story is not the same as that one. This character, as well as my story, was inspired by a Gryphon candle holder that I own. I was just looking at it one day, and the next thing I know, my muse has me by the throat and wouldn't let me go until I wrote the story. But I digress. I will warn you that this story is kind of long. There was just so much I wanted to put in. This is also my first digimon fanfic. Please, please, please, send me some feedback. I can always use some constructive criticism. That, and any questions, comments, or concerns send to Dafishies2@aol.com. Just do me a favor and make a reference to this in the subject line. Thanks a bunch. Hope you enjoy.   
  
  
Fallen  
By Melissa  
  
  
Sora sat under the shade of a tree on a hill in the digital world. She and the rest of the digidestined were taking a much deserved break from all their traveling. Everyone else was relaxing and chatting nearby. Sora felt very peaceful for the first time in a very long while. With all the dark masters gone she and the others could look forward to relaxing and enjoying themselves for the rest of their summer vacation. That thought was very fleeting though as Sora felt the ground begin to shake underneath her.   
  
"What the heck is going on?" said Matt.   
  
"I don't know," replied Joe, "but it can't be good."   
  
Izzy was frantically typing on his computer, trying, in vain, to find some sort of explanation for the sudden onset of the earthquake. "They don't happen for just no reason....," he was mumbling to himself.   
  
Mimi looked as is she were about to break down in tears. Kari and TK hugged each other tight and Tai just stood there looking determined to fight whatever was causing all of the shaking. All the digidestined let out a cry of surprise as the ground split open right in front of them.   
  
"Everybody run!" Shouted Tai.   
  
Everyone and their digimon scrambled up the hill that Sora was on. A cloud of smoke and dust came out of crevice in the ground, and with it came a particularly nasty looking digimon. He had a human like body, like Devimon or Myotismon. His head was covered by a black hood and his eyes glowed red beneath it. He wore black and dark blue robes that were covered with strange markings and seemed to pulsate on his body. Bat wings protruded from his back, covered with blue and black streaks. He also had a tail that resembled a snake's tail. It was spiraled colored black and blue. Unearthly wails seemed to be emanating from his general direction, but no one knew for sure if it was he who was actually making the sounds. He glanced at the 16 figures and the hill top and let out a throaty laugh.   
  
"Who are you, and what do you want?!" yelled Tai at the top of his lungs. The creature merely laughed some more.   
  
Finally he spoke. "I am Diablomon, Lord of the Digimon underworld. I am the ultimate evil. I am responsible for the training of such digimon as Devimon, Ladydevimon, Demidevimon, Myotismon, Machinedramon, Piedmon, etc. Seeing as how they all failed miserably I've taken it upon my self to come and get you myself. Unlike my minions though, I don't want to merely destroy you, I want to own your souls. That eerie wailing that you hear are all of the souls I have captured. Most of them have been by force, but a few have sold their souls to me willingly. For power, or fame, or whatever their little hearts desired....I gave it to them. And in the end, they belonged to me. Forever. And with every soul I take I grow stronger and stronger. And what better way to become so powerful that no one can defeat me, then to take the souls of the 8 digidestined and their digimon."  
  
"Over my dead body!" Tai screamed.   
  
"As you wish." replied Diablomon.   
  
"Digimon, go!"   
  
"Agumon worp digivolve to.........WarGreymon!"  
  
"Gabumon worp digivolve to.........MetalGarurumon!"   
  
"Gomamon digivolve to Ikkakumon......Ikkakumon digivolve to Zudomon!"   
  
"Palmon digivolve to Togemon.......Togemon digivolve to Lillymon!"   
  
"Biyomon digivolve to Birdramon.....Birdramon digivolve to Garudamon!"   
  
"Patamon digivolve to Angemon........Angemon digivolve to MagnaAngemon!"   
  
"Gatomon digivolve to Angewomon!"   
  
"Tentomon digivolve to Kabuterimon.......Kabuterimon digivolve to MegaKabuterimon"   
  
Matt yelled, "You're no match for us!"   
  
"We'll just see about that." replied Diablomon.   
  
MagnaAngemon used his Gate of Destiny, but Diablomon didn't budge an inch. Angewomon used her Celestial Arrow, however Diablomon simply avoided the shot.   
  
Diablomon began to attack. "Forever Darkness."   
  
A black fog came from his finger tips and engulfed both MagnaAngemon and Angewomon. Second later they fell to the ground, both a sickening shade of grey. Moments later they reversedigivolved back to Patamon and Gatomon, both unconscious. Kari and TK ran to their sides.   
  
"Now it's our turn," said MetalGarurumon. "Metal Wolf Claw!" The blast hit Diablomon right in the chest.   
  
"Yes! We got him!" Matt yelled as he pumped his fist in the air. His outburst was a bit premature though because Diablomon was still standing when the smoke cleared. With a wicked grin on his face he unleashed a different attack.   
  
"Underworld Inferno." Red flames rose up around MetalGarurumon. The flames formed into a ball, enclosing the Mega digimon. The ball then flew up extremely high into the air. After a few moments the ball came plummeting back at an alarming rate. It smashed into the ground to hard that it knocked everyone there off their feet. The ball dematerialized and there was a very wounded Gabumon moaning softly.   
  
"I grow tired of this," Diablomon snarled. And with that he attacked the other digimon.   
  
He deflected Garudamon's Wing Blade as easily as if he was shooing a fly away. The attack went heading back at the digidestined, specifically right at Mimi. Mimi couldn't move, she was frozen with fear. Luckily Lillymon saved her, by throwing herself in front of the blast. After, a severely scorched Palmon lay in a weeping Mimi's arms. Zudomon unleashed his Vulcan's Hammer attack. Diablomon then used a telekinetic power that enabled him to move objects with his mind. He used this power to throw Garudamon into Zudomon's blast. Biyomon then fell to the ground with a sickening thud. MegaKabuterimon let loose a Horn Buster, but Diablomon directed right towards Zudomon. Diablomon then swatted MegaKabuterimon to the ground. Both Tentomon and Gomamon were extremely hurt as they reversedigivolved from their ultimate forms.   
  
"Looks like it's up to us WarGreymon. Go get him buddy." Tai said.   
  
Devimon chuckled. "For you I have saved my best attack........Souls of the Damned!" The cloak the Diablomon wore that seemed to be pulsating began to move more and more. Then, translucent apparitions began to spring forth as the fabric seemed to dematerialize. They made a bee line for WarGreymon.   
  
"Not only do these souls give me power, they are also my slaves." Diablomon smiled.  
  
WarGreymon didn't even have time to react, let alone attack. The souls, what seemed like hundreds of them, swirled around WarGreymon, attacking him from all sides. It didn't take long for him to reversedigivolve back into Agumon.   
  
"How could he defeat us so easily? After all we've been through and all we have accomplished?" said Izzy.   
  
Diablomon smiled cruelly, "Now, which of you will be the first to become my slave?" He paused. "What? No volunteers? Well, I guess I'll just have to pick..........And........I......choose......you!" He said as his black gloved hand pointed a finger right at Mimi. Mimi, who was still cradling Palmon in her arms looked at Diablomon with eyes filled with fear. He began to make his way slowly towards her.   
  
"Everyone fall back!" yelled Tai. They all began running down the opposite side of the hill, hoping to regroup. What they didn't foresee was that not far away from the hill the land stopped to become a very large cliff.   
  
"You've reached the end of the line digidestined, there's no where else to go." Diablomon said as he made his way towards them.   
  
He was right, the children had quickly run out of room. One of Diablomon's arms elongated and grabbed Mimi's collar. He dragged her right to him and held her up to his face.   
  
"Look into my eyes, my dear, and it'll all be over soon."   
  
Mimi held her eyes shut as tears flowed down her cheeks. She was being held several feet off the ground. She didn't want to be a slave to anyone. As fun as it was being waited on hand and foot, she didn't want to be the one doing the waiting.   
  
"Leave her alone!"   
  
Diablomon looked in the direction of the voice, as did the others. It came from Sora. "You have no right to take people's souls."   
  
"I have every right," Devimon replied. "And anyway, who is going to stop me?"   
  
"I am." Sora said. And she marched towards the evil Digimon. Sora felt love for each and every one of her friends and she was not going to let them get hurt while there was anything she could do about it. "Or," she said, "I'm going to die trying."   
  
"I chose the latter." And with that Diablomon used his telekinetic power and flung Sora through the air, and right over the edge of the cliff.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Everyone screamed as Sora disappeared over the edge.   
  
Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. Sora was plummeting, but it didn't seem very fast at all. She saw images of her life back on earth. Her mom in her flower shop. She and Tai playing soccer. Going to school. Chatting with her friends. Sora was sure she was about to die, and she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.   
  
Suddenly there was a 'WHOOSH!!' and Sora no longer felt like she was falling. In fact, it felt as if she was traveling upwards. She thought that Biyomon had been able to digivolve to save her. She opened her eyes and was shocked by what she saw. A digimon, that seemed to have come out of nowhere, and one she had never seen before was holding onto her. This digimon had the head, and it's front limbs were the claws, of an eagle. They were a pale golden color. The lower half of it's body was that of a lion, colored a light brown. It's wings were like that of a bird, and were the color of pure snow. It held Sora gently as they flew upwards. Unfortunately, a tree was growing out of the side of the cliff. The digimon passed to close to it and it's right wing got snagged on a branch. With a sharp cry of pain from the digimon, the two began falling.   
  
'Oh God,' thought Sora, 'I am going to die.'  
  
"No you're not." replied the digimon. "Put you're arms around my neck and hold on." Doing a semi somersault in the air., the digimon righted itself and aimed their descent at the wall of the cliff. In one lightning fast motion, it stuck out it's claws and caught an edge. The digimon hit the wall of the cliff pretty hard, but managed to hang on.   
  
When she was sure they weren't falling anymore, Sora opened her eyes and looked down. It was a very long way to the bottom. Gulping, she turned her eyes upward. As far as it was going down, it seemed even farther going up. And here she was, hanging around the neck of a strange digimon, clinging to life by a couple of claws on a nearly sheer rock wall. Sora turned her attention back to the strange digimon. It was breathing very heavily, and had it's eyes closed. Sora immediately felt concern. Not for herself, but for this digimon who had risked it's life to save her. Sora felt very grateful. She started to speak to thank the digimon.  
  
"You're welcome." The digimon said, without opening it's eyes.  
  
Sora's eyes widened. "How do you do that?"   
  
"Ask me again some time. More specifically, when I can find us shelter."  
  
"Shelter? We're hanging off the side of a cliff! How are we supposed to find shelter?"  
  
"Calm down. There's lot's of shelter here, you just need to know where to look. Hold on tight to my neck, we're heading upwards."  
  
Sora tightened her grip around the digimon's neck. The digimon took one arm and wrapped it around Sora, pulling her closer to it's body. "I won't let you fall, Sora. And by the way, my name if Gryphonmon."  
  
"How did you know my name?"  
  
"I told you, ask me again some other time."  
  
The climb up was slow going, as one can imagine. Using only one arm and having a torn wing was taking it's toll on the mythical digimon. Nevertheless, it never complained and still pushed upward. Sora cradled her head on Gryphonmon's chest and thought of the others.  
  
  
Up Above  
  
The 7 digidestined were paralyzed with a mixture of shock, fear and sadness. They had just watched one of their own be killed by this insane digimon.   
  
Diablomon released his hold on Mimi and she fell to the ground. She crawled back over the where the others were.  
  
"What are you waiting for? Get it over with!!" screamed Tai. He felt hot tears start to form at the corners of his eyes.  
  
Diablomon cruelly smiled. "I have no need to start enslaving you right away. In order for you to even have a snow ball's chance in my underworld of beating me there would have to be all 8 of you. However, since you seem to be short one digidestined, I can take my time and make you suffer."   
  
Matt just stared at this evil digimon and started to move towards him, intending to make him pay for what he did to Sora and the others.   
  
"Uh uh uh. I wouldn't do that if I were you. I have no compulsions about sending another digidestined to meet their doom." Diablomon called to his minions, the Harpiemon. The digimon analyzer on Izzy's computer beeped.   
  
"Harpiemon: Named for an ancient mythical creature. With the head of old hag, body of a crow and the wings of a bat, it makes it one of the gruesome digimon. Coupled with a paralyzing attack caused by their screeching, they make excellent servants who obey without question." Izzy read off the screen.  
  
"Bring up some cages for my new toys. I'm going to have some fun and we don't want anyone getting any ideas." Half the Harpiemon went to get cages while the other half guarded the digidestined.  
  
TK, Kari and Mimi sat in a circle and sobbed uncontrollably. Tai sat near edge of the cliff and stared down. Joe just looked at his shoes and scrapped them along the ground. Izzy idly tapped at his keyboard and Matt just sat there clenching and unclenching his fists, with a murderous look in his eyes. The digimon were all together, all of them still badly hurt. As much as they were hurting right now, they needed to be there for Biyomon. She just sat there, looking like a lifeless shell of her former self. All the digimon had concerned looks on their faces.   
  
After awhile, Biyomon stirred. "It's all my fault." She whispered quietly.  
  
"That's not true Biyomon," Palmon said.  
  
"Yeah." Gabumon agreed.  
  
"But, I couldn't save her. I couldn't digivolve. I couldn't fly down that cliff......and now she's.....she's....." Biyomon couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.  
  
Gomamon spoke up. "Biyomon, none of us could digivolve."  
  
"He's right," replied Agumon. "Or else anyone of us would have gone down that cliff to save Sora."  
  
"You don't understand," Biyomon's voice was barely above a whisper. "She was my best friend. I was supposed to protect her at all costs.......And Now She's Dead Because I Couldn't Do That!!" Biyomon screamed. With that, the last bit of strength left her and she collapsed, sobbing, to the ground. Palmon knelt down beside her and, not saying anything, wrapped her vines around Biyomon, pulling her close to her. The rest of the digimon sat down, gazing sadly at their fallen friend.   
  
  
Down Below  
  
It seemed to Sora that they had been climbing for a very long time, and yet not seeming to be getting anywhere.   
  
"If you want to climb, be my guest." Gryphonmon spoke suddenly. Sora snapped her head up and stared and the digimon. "Sora, I'm kidding." She smiled at a bewildered looking Sora. "Don't worry, we will reach the top, but it will take some time. Climbing is our only option at the moment since my wing is damaged. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." They continued climbing for a little while until Gryphonmon stopped their assent.   
  
"Why are we stopping?" inquired Sora.  
  
"Because I have found some shelter."  
  
Sora looked around. All she saw was the rock face, rock face, and more rock face. "I don't see any shelter."  
  
"That's because your not supposed to." And with that Gryphonmon reached her claw up and it disappeared into the rock. Sora gasped.   
  
Gryphonmon chuckled, "It's OK Sora, my claw is fine." She withdrew her claw from the rock to show that it was still intact. "C'mon, let's go inside." Gryphonmon hoisted herself and Sora up, and they disappeared into the rock wall.  
  
Inside the cave, Sora rubbed her eyes to get used to the dim light from the torches that lined the walls. The cave wasn't really a cave, now that she got a closer look at it, but more of a tunnel. Amazed, she turned to Gryphonmon.  
  
"How did you do that?" she asked in awe.  
  
"I didn't do anything. We merely passed through a barrier that was set up to keep undesirables out. Welcome to my home. This is just part of a massive tunnel system that runs throughout most of this cliff."  
  
"That's why you seemed to come out of no where when you saved me." replied Sora. "You flew out from one of the tunnels."  
  
"That's correct. Come now. Let's go and get something to eat. Then we will talk. I know I have some questions for you as well as you have some for me."  
  
Sora nodded and she followed Gryphonmon deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels  
  
  
Up Above  
  
Diablomon looked on as the digidestined sat in a very large cage and the digimon sat in another one right beside it. Diablomon kept the cages at the cliff, although he had moved them considerably away from the edge. He thought it would be fun to torture the digidestined by keeping them near the sight of their friend's death. He would break them, one by one, and then he would take their souls at the last moment. 'Oh, this is going to be fun,' he thought to himself.   
  
He approached the cages. "Now, who will be first to undergo 'the treatment'? The one in pink is too much of a crier so I think I'll start with you." He pointed to Izzy. "Bring that one to my castle in the underworld. When I am finished with him, he will return and another will go."  
  
"You mean, you're not going to kill us?" Joe asked, his voicing squeaking in the middle of the sentence.  
  
"Not right this second. What fun would it be to kill you right away.? Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how long you can survive." Diablomon smiled cruelly.  
  
Harpiemon entered the cage and took Izzy out. They went to the crevice that had been created when Diablomon first appeared, and they jumped down into it. Diablomon turned to the children and said, "Enjoy your moments of levity, while they last." And with that he disappeared into the crevice as well.  
  
"Wh..What did he mean by that?" Kari asked.  
  
"I'm not too sure, but I have a feeling that when Izzy returns, he won't be the same as when he left." Joe replied.   
  
  
Underworld  
  
Diablomon's world was a lot how Izzy had imagined it. He pictured a flaming inferno with lots of demons and such. He had got the flaming inferno part right. There were small fires all over the place. The heat was also unbearable. Oddly enough, there was a large river, cutting the ground into two separate banks. Diablomon, the Harpiemon, and Izzy and boarded a boat that was on a river. The 'water' was green, purple and blue, almost like tie-dye. The river went right up to Diablomon's castle. The castle itself was entirely black and creepy looking. As they approached, Izzy could see more Harpiemon flying around the castle, screeching and whatnot. The boat docked on the bank and they all got out. A Harpiemon shoved Izzy roughly.  
  
"Watch it!" Izzy yelled as he almost fell. The Harpiemon just grinned wickedly.  
  
Diablomon spoke to Izzy. "Here we are. Home, sweet home. Well, for me anyway. You, on the other hand, may refer to it as dungeon, sweet dungeon."  
  
"What are you going to do to me?" Izzy asked, his voice quivering, ever so slightly.  
  
"You're going to live in your worst nightmare, or, to be more precise, several of your worst nightmares, since you are the first."  
  
When they entered the castle Izzy was put in a small room. Thankfully the inside of the castle was a whole lot cooler than the outside.   
  
Diablomon touched Izzy's head and said "Sleep."   
  
Unable to resist, Izzy fell to the floor.  
  
"Unpleasant dreams." Diablomon said.  
  
  
Izzy's Nightmares  
  
Izzy awoke to find himself in what appeared to be a room in a log cabin. He sat up and scratched his head. 'This isn't the underworld. Where am I?' He thought.   
  
He walked out of the room into the adjoining one where he saw his mom sitting by the fire knitting. "Mom? Where are we?"   
  
"You silly goose. We're in our house, just as we have always been."  
  
"But this isn't our house."  
  
"Of course it is. Now no more talk of such nonsense, you're father will be home from plowing the fields soon."  
  
'The fields?' thought Izzy. 'My dad isn't a farmer.' Izzy went back to the room he came from to look for him computer. He looked high and low but it was no where in the room. He went to other rooms looking for it. It was then that he began to notice something different. Everywhere he looked there didn't seem to be any outlets. Or any electric devices for that matter. All he saw were a couple of oil lamps. Funny, he thought, mom and dad were never the rustic type. He went to talk to his mom again.  
  
"Hey mom, have you seen my computer?"  
  
"Com...pu...ter? What is that son? Some strange new word you invented?"  
  
Izzy stopped. "Stop kidding around Mom. And where are the lamps, TV or anything electrical for that matter?"  
  
His mom looked at him if he had grown another head. "Son, you are obviously not well to make up such things. Why don't you lie down and I'll bring you some root tea?"  
  
Izzy began to protest, but he immediately stopped. "Mom," he asked carefully, "What year is it?"  
  
His mother looked at him. "It's 1832 same as it has been for the last 104 days."  
  
Izzy could feel the color drain out of his face. He was in a place with no modern technology. Not only a place, but a time period. "Oh no...nononononononono....," he said. "It can't be. This is impossible." Izzy was so dependent on his computer that one of his fears was living without it. And worse yet, he didn't have it now to figure out a way to get out of this.  
  
"C'mon son. You must rest. And later, you can help your father chop wood. And tomorrow, it's harvesting time."  
  
Izzy laid down on the bed once more and closed his eyes, all the while saying, "Nonononononononono...."  
  
  
When Izzy opened his eyes again he sat bolt upright in his bed. He was back in his room, in his house on earth. On his desk sat his computer and all his equipment. His room looked exactly as he had left it when he went summer camp. He got up and ran out the door to the living room where his mother and father were sitting on the couch.   
  
"Mom? Dad?" Izzy said.  
  
They looked up. "Yes son?"  
  
"What year is it?"   
  
The two laughed together. "Izzy, it's 2000. Sweety, why do you ask?" His mother inquired.  
  
"No reason." He said, as he breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a dream, he thought to himself.  
  
"Well, as long as you're here son, there's something your mother and I want to tell you." His father waited a beat and then spoke again. "You're adopted."  
  
Izzy was shocked at the abruptness. Although he already knew he wasn't their real son, the way his father just blurted it out surprised Izzy.  
  
"I know Dad. I heard you and Mom talking about it awhile ago. And I want you to know that even though I'm not your biological son, you're still my parents and I will always love you, no matter what."  
  
His parents burst out laughing again.  
  
"What's so funny?" Izzy asked, with a confused look on his face.  
  
"Oh Izzy," his mother said, "We're telling you this because we sending you back to the orphanage where we got you."  
  
Izzy stared at them. Not comprehending what was going on. "Is this some sort of sick joke?"  
  
"Oh no son. You are just such a huge disappointment to us. You're not what we wanted in a son at all. So, we decided to return you. Thank god your father kept the receipt!" His mother howled with laughter.  
  
Izzy put his hand on the arm of the couch, trying to steady himself. He felt if he had been physically hit, in the head, with a bat, about 600 times.  
  
"C'mon son, it's time to go." His dad said. He grabbed Izzy's arm roughly and started for the door. "And don't bother to get any of your stuff, we're keeping that for our new, better son."  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"   
  
  
Underworld  
  
Diablomon stared at Izzy as he twitched and moaned in his nightmare. "That's enough for now, send him back to the cage and bring me another one." He commanded the Harpiemon.  
  
"Yes master." Replied the Harpiemon.  
  
  
Up Above  
  
The Harpiemon, two to be precise, dragged Izzy back to the cage. He was in a sort of stupor. He was repeating "Nonononono...." over and over again. They shoved him in the cage and slammed the door. Izzy crumpled the floor and curled up in the fetal position. Joe knelt beside him and checked him over.   
  
"Amazing. There's not a scratch anywhere on him."  
  
Matt looked at Izzy. "Not on the outside anyway." He said.  
  
Mimi brushed her gloved hand through Izzy's hair trying to comfort him. Tears traced a path down Izzy's cheek as his body shook with sobs. Outside the cage the Harpiemon were arguing over who was to be the next to go. Tai looked at Izzy and then turned his eyes back to the cliff.   
  
He whispered, "At least you won't have to go through this. God, Sora, I miss you so much....."  
  
He couldn't complete his thought though because the Harpiemon came to a decision. He turned to see who would be next. The Harpiemon pointed a claw, directly at Matt.  
  
  
Down Below  
  
Sora followed Gryphonmon through what seemed like a never ending maze of tunnels. Gryphonmon slowed down and approached what appeared to be a dead end.   
  
"After you." Gryphonmon grinned.  
  
Sora raised an eyebrow. After a moment, she realized that it must be another barrier. The cautiously walked up to it and put her hand on it, or rather, through it. She saw it was safe and stepped through the barrier. She was shocked and delighted by what she saw. There was a fireplace at one end casting a warm light about the room. Comfortable looking furniture adorned the room as well as a few wooden chests. It had a very homey feel to it. A large rug was in the center of it all.   
  
"Have a seat Sora. I'll get us something to eat." Gryphonmon went back through the barrier, out of sight.  
  
Sora sat down on the comfortable couch and continued to scan the room. Several painting hung on the walls. Many of them were nature scenes. Two in particular caught Sora's eye. One was of two Gryphonmon. The one on the right was obviously the one that had saved her life. The one on the left was different colors then the first. It's body was black and it had black, purple and blue wings. The picture was an exquisite work of art. The other picture was of marked contrast to all the others. It appeared to be a burnt out village, or town, painted against a sky of red, orange and black. Sora was curious to why that one was with all the others. She made a mental note to ask about it.  
  
Gryphonmon returned with some food and took a seat on the other end of the couch. They ate their meal in relative silence. After eating, Sora settled back into the couch cushions. "Thanks for the food, it was great."   
  
"You're welcome Sora."  
  
Sora suddenly realized that her eyelids were heavy. She tried hard to keep them open, but she was having a tough time of it. She wanted to stay awake, there was so much she wanted to ask Gryphonmon.  
  
"Get some sleep. We'll talk again when you have rested. You've had a very intense day and I'll be right here when you awaken."  
  
"Ooookay," said Sora. She leaned back and fell asleep almost immediately. Gryphonmon went to one of the chests and withdrew a blanket. She wrapped it around Sora and sat down gazing at the sleeping child with her large eagle eyes.   
  
  
  
Underworld  
  
Matt was put in the same room that Izzy was. The room was incredibly small. Matt whirled around to face his tormentor.  
  
"If you think I'm claustrophobic, you're wrong. It'll take a lot more then a small room to scare me, Bag Head!!" Matt yelled.  
  
"Oh, I know it will. And I can't wait to see what exactly it will take to scare you." Diablomon placed his hand on Matt's head and said "Sleep." Matt fell to the floor, worry lines creasing his brow.  
  
  
Matt's Nightmare  
  
Rain fell all around him. Matt was standing under an umbrella. He was dressed in a black suit, with matching tie and shoes and a navy shirt. He was confused. Why was he standing in the rain, and all dressed up for that matter. He glanced around. There were a lot of people standing around. And they were all dressed up as well.  
  
"What's going on?" He asked.  
  
Two men passed by him, both giving him the evil eye. "Like you don't know." One of them muttered.  
  
Matt was taken aback. Two men are giving him dirty looks and muttering about something he had no idea about. Matt decided to walk around and see if he could assertion what was going on, since asking was obviously the wrong thing to do. After passing more dressed up people Matt saw something that shocked him. His mom and dad, standing together, with their arms around each other. His mom looked like she had been crying. Matt couldn't believe it. He ran across the grass, trying not to slip.  
  
"Mom! Dad!"  
  
Matt's mom saw her eldest son and started to cry again. She buried her face in Matt's dad's shoulder. Matt's dad glared at his son. "Matt, just go away. We don't want to see you right now."  
  
Matt was shocked. "But why?"  
  
"Mister, if you have to ask that, then it better be quite a while before I see your face again!" His dad yelled threateningly.  
  
Upset and hurt Matt turned on his heals and ran in the opposite direction. Tears forming in his eyes mixed with the rain hitting him in the face. He ran for awhile until he tripped over something. Rubbing his bruised shin and looked back and what he saw surprised him. It was a small head stone. Matt looked around and realized he was in cemetery. A little further away he saw a long black coffin. It finally dawned on him that he was at a funeral. 'I wonder who it's for?' Matt thought. He made his way slowly towards the coffin, since his shin still hurt. As he approached the coffin a woman also approached it.  
  
"I'm surprised you came." She said.  
  
"I'm sorry, but why is that?" Matt replied.  
  
"After what you did. I didn't think you would have the backbone to show up here."   
  
"I'm confused. What did I do? Everything is such a blur....."  
  
"Wow. You really must not have any heart to not remember killing your little brother."  
  
The statement caught Matt like a shot to the stomach. "Wh...What?!?"  
  
"Boy, you are dense. You and TK were on a street corner. He was clinging to you. You told him to get off and when he didn't you gave him a little shove. It wasn't a hard push, but it was enough to lose his balance and he fell into the street, right into the path of an oncoming car. If you were able to show a little more emotion, maybe he would still be alive."  
  
"No...No...That's impossible!.......It can't be!!!"  
  
"See for yourself." The woman said as she turned and left.  
  
Matt placed a shaky hand on the coffin lid. Uneasily, he opened it. There lying in white satin was the body of his little brother. Even with the makeup Matt could still see the bruises. TK looked as though he were sleeping except his lips where so very pale. Matt closed the lid and laid his head on it. Sobbing uncontrollably, he slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
  
Underworld  
  
Diablomon watched as Matt twitched uncontrollably on the stone floor. A smile tugged at his lips. "Two down, five to go."  
  
  
Up Above  
  
Matt was thrown back into the cage with the other digidestined. He sat in a corner of the cage and just stared ahead. His eyes seemed dead. TK walked over to his brother.  
  
"What's wrong Matt?"  
  
Matt slowly lifted his gaze to his brother. "You're an angel. You came back to visit me. Even after what I did to you. Oh TK......I love you and I'm so sorry.....so very sorry......" Matt laid his head on his little brother's shoulders and wept softly.  
  
Everyone was shocked. Matt hardly showed any emotion let alone cried.   
  
"Wow, Diablomon must have done a number on Matt to make him act like that." Joe commented.  
  
"Makes you wonder what's in store for the rest of us." Mimi replied morosely.  
  
"You'll get to find out my dear." One of the Harpiemon said. "You're next."  
  
"No!" screamed Joe. He got up and rushed at the Harpiemon. He didn't get very far as one of them unleashed a Screech Song. It knocked Joe backward and onto the floor.  
  
"Back off, four eyes." The Harpiemon hissed. "Pinkie here is coming with us."   
  
Each grabbed one of Mimi's arms and dragged her out of the cell. Joe went to the bars and gripped them until his knuckles turned white, knowing there was nothing he could do.   
  
  
Down Below  
  
Sora opened her eyes and rubbed them sleepily. She was still curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her. She yawned and sat up, stretching as she did so. She let out a yelp of surprise when she saw what appeared to be a set of glowing blue eyes in the far corner of the room. Sora couldn't see who it was since the fire had died down.  
  
"Who's there?" She called out.  
  
"It's just me Sora." Gryphonmon replied. She stepped out of the shadows and towards the couch. Sora was a little surprised to see that Gryphonmon walked on her hind legs. It had never sunk in before when they had been walking through the tunnels. Given the body structure, Sora had assumed that this digimon was a quadruped.   
  
"I think it's more comfortable walking this way, don't you?"  
  
"How do you keep doing that?!?" Sora asked in utter amazement.   
  
"Well, I guess the time has come for our talk, so here's the deal. You may ask me a question or about some aspect of my life and I will answer. And then, in turn, I will do the same to you. You don't have to reveal anything you're uncomfortable with and you can be safe with the knowledge that what ever you share with me will go no further then these stone walls."   
  
Sora thought for a second. "Agreed. I guess my first question is obvious, how do you keep answering stuff that I don't even say out loud?"  
  
Gryphonmon chuckled. "I'm psychic." She laughed even more when Sora's eyebrows went sky high. "I read minds. To me, it sound's as if you are actually speaking out loud, rather than thinking. So that is why I kept replying to your thoughts. I really have to watch myself though, not everyone likes their mind read. And if you are uncomfortable I won't read your mind anymore."  
  
"No, Gryphonmon, I don't mind." Sora said as she smiled.   
  
"If you are satisfied, I will proceed with my question. You are obviously not a digimon. How did you and your friends come to be here in the digital world?"  
  
Sora smiled and proceeded to tell Gryphonmon the story of the seven, eventually eight, digidestined and some of their many adventures.  
  
  
Underworld   
  
Mimi was wringing her hands the whole way to the castle. She was trying to brave but after she saw what happened to Matt and Izzy, being brave was the last thing on her mind.  
  
"Ah, Miss Pretty in Pink, how nice it is to see you again."  
  
Mimi jumped at the sound of Diablomon's voice. She started to shake all over.  
  
"Don't be frightened child. At least, not yet." He smiled evilly. Placing his hand on her head, Mimi fell unconscious to the floor.  
  
  
Mimi's Nightmare  
  
Mimi opened her eyes and glanced around. She seemed to be in a giant bed in an even bigger room. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and began to fumble around for a light switch. When she found one, and light flooded the room, Mimi gasped in horror. The entire room was black. The bed, sheets, curtains, carpets, etc. You name it and it was black. Mimi just stood their with her mouth open, shocked. There wasn't a shred of pink anywhere. She turned around and nearly fainted dead away at what she saw. She had caught a glimpse of herself in a full length mirror. She was dressed in what looked like black leather and had a lot of bulky jewelry. On her head was a crown that was made of silver and red rubies. 'What the heck is going on? I better go and see if I can find someone who will tell me.' Mimi thought to herself.  
  
Mimi went out of the depressing bedroom and began to walk down the corridor. The hallway was gigantic. Occasionally she saw a person walking by her. Whenever that happened though they didn't look at her at all and quickened their pace. Mimi tried to ask them questions, but they ran away, and one person fainted when she tried to ask where she was.   
  
"This is soooo odd." Mimi commented to herself. She continued to walk until she came to a set of huge door at the end of the hallway. Maybe someone in here can tell me, she thought, as she pushed open the door.  
  
Inside she was greeted by an immense roar of a cheering crowd. The room was filled with the same gothic decor as the bedroom. Mimi stood there with her mouth agape. Given the dark room and the poor lighting she couldn't see very much, except for one figure coming towards her. Once her eyes had adjusted she saw who it was, and she screamed.  
  
"Myotismon!"  
  
The digimon grinned wickedly, and simply replied, "My queen, we've been waiting for you. Please allow me the pleasure of escorting you to your thrown."  
  
"What?!?"  
  
Myotismon creased his brow. "Are you feeling all right, my liege? Come, I will carry you to your thrown so that you may rest." And with that Myotismon scooped up Mimi and carried her to a large chair before Mimi could even open her mouth to object.  
  
Sitting in this large, ugly, black chair Mimi turned her gaze back to the crowd, whom she still could not see very well. Mimi, turned to Myotismon and asked, meekly, "Could we have a little more light in here?"  
  
Myotismon nodded and turned, barking out orders, "The queen wants more light in here!! Be quick about it or she will destroy you like all the others."  
  
This statement brought a cheer from the crowd. 'Destroyed?' Mimi thought. 'I never destroyed anyone....'  
  
Her thought was interrupted as light flooded the room and she gasped at what she saw. Digimon, evil digimon, filled the room nearly to capacity. Snimon, Tuskmon, Phantomon, Bakamon, Seadramon, MegaSeadramon, Metalseadramon, Devimon, Skullmeramon, Skullgreymon, Vegiemon, Demidevimon, Vademon, Nanimon, Gesomon, Flymon, Raremon, Gizamon, Divermon, DarkTyrannomon, Venommyotismon, Parrotmon, Demidevimon, Kiwimon, Puppetmon, Scorpiomon, Piedmon, Machinedramon.....just to name a few. Mimi's head was reeling. 'How did I become queen of these evil digimon?' She thought, her mind racing.  
  
Myotismon raised his voice to speak above the crowd. "Today we celebrate our queen's anniversary of becoming ruler of the digital world as well as earth! May she rule with an iron fist and no mercy!"  
  
More cheers from the crowd. Mimi turned to Myotismon and said, "Could we speak in private for a moment?"  
  
"Of course my queen, anything you wish." Myotismon and Mimi went behind some curtains behind her throne.  
  
"Myotismon, I must have hit my head or something today...." Mimi lied. "Could you please tell me how I came to rule both the digital world and earth? Everything is so mixed up in my head."  
  
Myotismon smiled, "Yes my queen. You see, it happened when you and the other digidestined first entered the digital world. Instead of fighting with those goody goodies though, you joined forces with the evil digimon. As a result, you became a unifying force for all the evil digimon and the dark masters. We became a dark army, with you as our leader. We quickly laid waste to any opposition in the digital world. After conquering it, you turned your sights on earth. It took a little more time but eventually earth fell as well. Now you rule both, with all of us at your service and your mercy." Myotismon knelt before Mimi.  
  
"What happened to the rest of the digidestined? My parents? All the good digimon? Palmon?"  
  
"We are still searching for the digidestined, they are the last of the rebellion against you. Your parents were the first people you killed when we invaded earth. You said that they were weak and not worth keeping alive. Any good digimon we encountered you destroyed. And Palmon, well, she was the first you killed. She tried to keep you from joining the evil digimon. You hung her from a nearby tree with her own poison ivy."  
  
Mimi felt her knees go out from under her. "I'm....I'm a murderer...." she whispered.  
  
"Yes, and quite a good one at that." Myotismon was interrupted as a Gizamon approached and whispered something to him. His lips turned up into a cruel smile. "Come, my queen, we have a surprise for you."  
  
Myotismon lead Mimi back to the throne room where she sat down. The doors at the far end of the room swung open and in walked a circle of evil digimon. There was something in the center of the circle but she couldn't see what it was. When the circle was before her it opened up, revealing the other seven digidestined!  
  
Mimi looked at them with sad eyes. They, and the digimon, were all bruised and battered and extremely thin. It looked as if the life had been sucked right out of them. They looked at her with a mixture of fear, hatred and sadness. Myotismon spoke up, "My queen, we have finally captured them at last! What are your orders?"  
  
Mimi looked at them and said, "Kill them."  
  
Mimi eyes widened as she clasped her hand over her mouth. Did she just say that??  
  
"No...wait....I mean.........Kill them!" Mimi yelled.  
  
She couldn't believe this! It was like her mouth was moving independently of her mind. She loved her friends and never wanted to hurt them. She opened her mouth, but all that came out was, "And do it now!!!"  
  
Joe looked at Mimi with a mixture of sadness and hate. "At least she's sincere about it." He said sarcastically to the others.  
  
All the evil digimon raised their weapons and fired.........  
  
Mimi closed her eyes and slipped into absolute darkness.  
  
  
Underworld   
  
Mimi's screams echoed through the castle. Diablomon sat on his throne and smiled smugly and Harpiemon flitted about. 'This is turning out perfectly. I will break their spirits........and then they will belong to me.' Diablomon thought to himself.  
  
  
Down Below  
  
"......That is how we ended up here and helped save the digital world and earth." Sora finished her story, took a deep breath, and leaned back on the couch.  
  
"That's quite a tale, Sora." Gryphonmon replied. "You've talked for quite a long time. Now it is your turn to ask a question."  
  
Sora pondered for a moment and then said, "Will you tell me about those two paintings? The one with the two Gryphonmon and the one over there?" Sora pointed to the painting of the destroyed town.  
  
Gryphonmon glanced at the two paintings. She seemed very lost in thought. Sora looked at digimon, worry on her face. 'Did I ask the wrong thing?' Sora thought.  
  
"No, you didn't." Gryphonmon replied, making Sora jump. "I haven't looked at those paintings in a very long time. I will tell you the story behind one, which will lead to the explanation of the other."  
  
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."  
  
"No, I want to. I should tell this story." Gryphonmon took a deep breath. "And I have to, so the memory doesn't die."  
  
Gryphonmon had Sora's complete attention. She began her tale.  
  
"The painting of the two digimon over there. The one is me and the other is DarkGryphonmon. We, as two groups of digimon, are extremely similar in powers and appearance. In fact, the only major difference is our colors. One does not digivolve into the other, if that's what your wondering. Gryphonmon and DarkGryphonmon, several years ago, were plentiful. They filled the sky and these cliffs were one of the major villages. We were very creative digimon. Painting, writing, sculpting, etc., we were the artists of the digital world. Besides art, we were also great warriors when the need arose. Ready to fight any evil digimon that was causing trouble. We were quite a thorn in the side of the likes of Devimon and MetalSeadramon, etc." Gryphonmon chuckled, and then continued. "That particular DarkGryphonmon next to me, he was my best friend. A mutual friend of ours painted that picture on the day we digivolved into the state you see, and we were able to finally go out on our own. I relive that day over and over again. The wind beneath my wings, the sun on my face, and the company of an individual whom I cared for deeply. We were born in primary village, like all digimon, but at the time, we were the only Martamon in the whole village. From In-Training Martamon, we digivolved into our Rookie forms of Kitmon. Basically, we looked like kittens with wings. From there we digivolved into Champion Eaglemon, were we looked like giant eagles but we had lion paws and tails. Eaglemon the digivolved into the Ultimate form of DemiGryphonmon, where we were just smaller and slightly less powerful versions of the form you see now. From DemiGryphonmon one of two paths would happen. He took one and I took the other. From there I became the Mega form Gryphonmon and he became DarkGryphonmon. It took awhile but it was worth it. Sometimes I felt like all the work we need to do to digivolve was worthless. But he pushed me on and we did it together. I wouldn't be here right now without him. For that I am truly grateful." Gryphonmon gazed at the picture, with a sad look in her eyes.  
  
Sora thought for a second and then spoke. "Why do you refer to him in the past tense? And, if this is a major village, where are the rest of the Gryphonmon and DarkGryphonmon?"  
  
"Because........I am the only Gryphonmon left in the whole digital world. And when I am gone, my kind will be truly extinct."  
  
Sora almost fell off the couch at that statement. "H..How? How is that possible? I thought you were reborn in the primary village if you died??"  
  
"Normally, yes, a digimon would be reborn in the primary village. But that leads to the explanation of the second picture. That was one of the Gryphonmon and DarkGryphonmon villages. I painted that when we discovered the destruction. It was one of the first ones he attacked. Myotismon, before you fought him, was looking for ways to become more powerful. And he did so by destroying innocent digimon. My kind tried to rise up to stop him. He came up with an insidious plan though. He came into the possession of a virus, one specifically designed for Gryphonmon and DarkGryphonmon. Once one member was infected it quickly spread to others. This virus made it so that when a Gryphonmon or a DarkGryphonmon was destroyed, it was deleted permanently, never to be reborn. As the virus spread, Myotismon went from village to village destroying my kind. This," She gestured around her, "was the last intact Gryphonmon village in the whole digital world. It didn't take long for Myotismon to find it and launch an attack. Gryphonmon and DarkGryphonmon were being killed right and left. The virus had also made us very weak, so even though many of us were Mega, Myotismon still defeated us." She paused. "DarkGryphonmon, my best friend, he.........he saved my life. He took a blast that had been meant for me. I should have been paying attention. I've never forgiven myself. He would still be alive if it weren't for me. After he went down I took him deep into the tunnel systems. I held him in my arms as he lay there dying. With his last breath and told me how much he loved me, and then he passed away. That day was the last time I cried. After that I went out and saw the carnage. Myotismon was gone, figuring he had destroyed us all. The dead and the dying, were all lying around.........being deleted, never to be reborn."  
  
Gryphonmon fell silent and she stared into the fire. The light danced in her eyes. Sora sat with her knees tucked up under her chin. "I'm sorry." She whispered.  
  
"Thank you." Gryphonmon replied, just as quietly. A moment passed and then she spoke again. "We should get some rest, Sora. It is very late. We will continue our conversation later." With that Gryphonmon got off the couch and went to the far corner of the room. Sora watched as Gryphonmon made an extremely high jump up to a small ledge in the corner. Gryphonmon perched there and closed her eyes. Sora thought she looked like a gargoyle, a great protector of all she surveyed. That was the last thought Sora had as she closed her eyes.  
  
  
Up Above  
  
Harpiemon dragged Mimi back to the cage. She wasn't crying though. Instead she looked very ashen. They threw her in the cage and Mimi went to a vacant spot and sat down. She leaned her back against the cage, all the while mumbling "What have I done......"  
  
In the next cage, Palmon looked at Mimi with concern. All the other digimon were fast asleep, trying to recover from the savage beating they had received that day. Palmon went over to the edge of the cage.  
  
"Mimi?"  
  
Mimi didn't acknowledge Palmon, nor did she stir at all. Palmon tried again.  
  
"Mimi? Please speak to me. Tell me what's wrong."  
  
Mimi still didn't stir. "Poison Ivy." Palmon said quitely. Her vines elongated and passed through the spaces of her cage and then through the other cage. They brushed Mimi's cheek. Mimi sprang back from the bars if she had been badly burned.   
  
"Don't touch me! Get away from me!" She cried.  
  
Palmon withdrew her vines, a hurt look on her face. The other digimon and digidestined, the ones that were able to, gathered around to watch what was unfolding.  
  
Mimi screamed, "You're ghosts, phantoms, come to haunt me for the rest of my days!! Go away please! It's too painful to see you. Every time I see you guys I'm reminded what I did to all of you!! Get away!"  
  
Mimi fell to the floor, sobbing hysterically. Everyone looked at everyone else.   
  
Joe spoke up. "Why does Mimi think we're all ghosts?"  
  
"Probably the same reason Matt thinks TK is an angel and Izzy thinks he's going to an orphanage." Tai said. "Diablomon is messing with their minds.....a lot."  
  
"This is bad, really, really bad." Joe countered.  
  
"It's worse then you think, four-eyes." A Harpiemon hissed. "You're next."  
  
  
Underworld  
  
Joe looked at Diablomon's castle and gulped. He wondered what kind of tortures awaited him in there.   
  
"Welcome to my humble abode, four eyes." Diablomon said. "Make yourself as uncomfortable as possible."  
  
"Thanks, but no, I'll just be going." Joe made a break for the door, but didn't get very far as a couple of Harpiemon tackled him.  
  
"You can't escape so easily, Mr. Reliability. Let's see what kind of goodies are stored in that egg head of yours."  
  
Diablomon touched Joe and he sank into dark oblivion.  
  
  
Joe's Nightmare  
  
Joe awoke to find himself face down in a book. He blinked and sat up. He was in a classroom, surrounded by other students. There was a teacher walking around, handing something out.  
  
There was a tap on his shoulder. Joe turned around.  
  
"How do you think you did on the math test?"  
  
Joe blinked. Why was Tai in his class? Tai was a couple years younger than Joe. Joe scanned the room. He saw Sora, Mimi, Izzy and Matt sitting not too far away. 'How could that be?'  
  
"Uh, I'm not too sure. How do you think you did?"  
  
"Me?" said Tai. "I think I aced it. This math stuff is a piece of cake. I think you must have aced it too. Third time's a charm!" Tai grinned.  
  
'Third time? What the heck is he talking about?'  
  
The teacher handed back the tests of the other digidestined. Everyone had got an A. Then she walked up to Joe and she had a stern look on her face.  
  
"You know what this means. Another parent teacher conference."  
  
"Ooooookay." Joe replied as the teacher walked away. Joe looked at his paper. A large red F+ was circled at the top. Joe began to hyperventilate. He had never gotten anything lower then an A- before. And here, an F+ was staring him right in the face.  
  
Tai peeked over Joe's shoulder. "Tough luck buddy. You almost passed this time. You better hit the books. You don't want to be left back again."  
  
"What?" Joe asked weakly. It was beginning to dawn on him.  
  
"Yeah, don't you think two times is enough? How do you think you ended up in class with me and the others when you're a couple of years older?"  
  
"Left back?!?" Joe's head was spinning. "But, I was doing great in school! I was going to be a doctor!"  
  
"Sure you were Joe, and I'm the Emperor." Tai grinned, playfully swatting Joe in the arm.  
  
Matt turned around. "Don't worry Joe, you can still work in the hospital.....as their janitor!!" Everyone in the class heard this last comment and burst out laughing. Joe felt himself growing dizzy and he laid his head back on the book on his desk. He closed his eyes and prayed for silence.   
  
  
Down Below  
  
Sora awoke and yawned. She looked at the ledge and saw Gryphonmon sitting there on the ledge watching her.  
  
"Have you been awake long?" Sora inquired.  
  
"No, not really. Now that you're up, I was wondering if you would like to go for a swim. Further down in the rock there is an underground lake. We can continue our conversation down there if you like."  
  
Sora liked that notion. It had been awhile since she had been swimming. "That's a great idea."  
  
Gryphonmon went to one of the chests and withdrew several towels. Sora followed Gryphonmon, as they headed downwards. There were a ton of tunnels. Sora stuck close to the digimon for fear of getting lost. After about 20 minutes of walking they came to the lake. It was beautiful, thought Sora. The water was light blue at the surface and got continually darker as the water got deeper. Gryphonmon climbed the near wall up to a small outcropping of rock. After pausing for a moment, she dove into the water. The splashing echoed in the cavern. A couple of moments passed and Gryphonmon surfaced several feet away.   
  
"C'mon Sora, the water's fine."  
  
Sora peeled off her clothes and walked into the water. It was cool and refreshing, not freezing as Sora had expected. They swam around in silence for a little while until Gryphonmon spoke.  
  
"Now it would be my turn to ask you a question."  
  
"Shoot." Sora replied.  
  
"Well, this really should have been my first question, but I got side tracked. How did you manage to fall off the cliff?"  
  
Sora looked sad for a moment. "My friends and I were relaxing on a hill nearby when a digimon attacked us. He came out of the ground and said something about wanting our souls. He was trying to take the soul of my friend Mimi and I tried to stop him. He used his telekinetic power to throw me through the air and over the edge of the cliff"  
  
Gryphonmon stopped swimming and stared at Sora. Sora grew uneasy under the intense gaze of those large eagle eyes.  
  
In a low tone Gryphonmon asked "Do you know the name of this digimon?"  
  
"Yes, his name was Diablomon."  
  
Gryphonmon's eyes turned electric blue and she flared out her wings, letting out a low growl. The growl turned to a painful cry since her wing was still damaged.  
  
"I don't understand. You know this digimon?" Sora inquired.  
  
Gryphonmon looked at her and said, "He's the one who trained Myotismon in the evil arts. He is also the one who came up with the virus that was the doom of my kind. I have been searching for him for a very, very long time." Her eyes still an eerie shade of blue.  
  
"What are you going to do?" asked Sora.  
  
"I'm going to destroy him. Or I'm going to die trying."  
  
"I said something similar to that and he almost killed me."  
  
"Well, I'm hoping that we and the other digidestined will have the combined power to beat him. If we don't, and he does capture our souls, there will be no hope left for this world, or for yours."  
  
Sora's eyes widened. Diablomon was very strong and powerful. They had barely beaten Myotismon on earth, how we're they supposed to beat the master that trained him?  
  
"We'll find a way Sora. There is a reason that destiny led me to save you. And I think defeating Diablomon just might be it."  
  
"I hope you're right." Replied Sora. Her thoughts drifted to her friends above. She hoped they were still OK, and alive for that matter.  
  
  
Up Above  
  
The digimon sat in a tight circle in their cage. Gomamon was the first to speak.  
  
"So are we coming up with a plan to get out of here, or what?"  
  
"I don't see you putting forth any ideas." Gabumon shot back.  
  
While those two argued, Palmon and Tentomon looked through the bars at the digidestined. Izzy was still in the fetal position, Mimi was screaming something about ghosts trying to get her, and Matt was still referring to TK as an angel. And no one knew what was happening to Joe. Palmon had had just about enough of the fighting.  
  
"Will you two be quiet! If you can't say something nice, don't say it at all!"  
  
Gomamon and Gabumon immediately shut up.  
  
"I'm sorry, Palmon. I'm just worried about Joe." Gomamon said.  
  
"I'm sorry too, Palmon." Gabumon echoed.  
  
"I'm sorry I yelled at you guys. I want to get out of here as much as you do. We can't digivolve without their help and I don't think they'll be any position to help us anytime soon."  
  
Gatomon, still looking very pale from Diablomon's attack, spoke up. "We have to do something and soon. We're running out of digidestined."  
  
"True enough. But even if everyone one was well we would need all eight of us to even have a chance of defeating this digimon. And sadly, we're one short." Agumon replied, gazing sadly in Biyomon's direction.  
  
"We can't just give up and let this bad guy win. Now c'mon, I want everyone to think. We have to find a way out." Gatomon said.  
  
The rest of the digimon nodded, all except Biyomon, who was still in sort of a stupor.   
  
The Harpiemon dragged Joe back to the cage. He was very pale and mumbling something about janitors. He was thrown into the cage. He sat down and put his head on his arms and sighed.  
  
"Joe, are you OK?" TK asked.  
  
"Leave me alone." Joe replied.  
  
TK, looking hurt, walked away and sat down next to Tai.  
  
"He didn't mean it TK. Joe's not himself." Tai said as he put his arm around TK. The only ones left to undergo Diablomon's treatment were Tai, TK and Kari. Tai thought to himself that he would try to protect TK and Kari. He wasn't sure if that would do any good, but he was certainly going to try.  
  
Tai watched the Harpiemon. They were trying to decide who would be next. They seemed to come to a consensus and turned and grinned wickedly at the three remaining children. One of them pointed directly at TK.  
  
"No!!" screamed Tai. He got up and charged at the Harpiemon. Two more came into the cage and pinned Tai down while the third dragged TK out. "Leave him alone!!......Argggggg!" Tai screamed as a Harpiemon dug one of it's claws into his cheek.  
  
"Your turn will come soon enough." It hissed. "Patience, patience."  
  
The Harpiemon released their hold on Tai and he could do nothing but watch as they headed towards the underworld.  
  
  
The Underworld  
  
Diablomon smiled cruelly at the small child that was trembling in front of him. Diablomon was enjoying every minute of this.  
  
"Well, my darling child of hope, it's time."  
  
"Wh..What are y..you going t..to do to m..me?" stammered TK  
  
"Nothing, except make you sleep for a little while. Don't let the bed bugs bite." With that, he touched TK's head and TK fell into a deep, troubled sleep.  
  
  
TK's Nightmare  
  
TK awoke in his bedroom back on earth. It was very dark and very late at night. TK wondered what had happened. Had he just been dreaming. Yes, that must be it, he thought. He got out of bed and started for his bedroom door.  
  
As he was reaching for the handle he heard voices in the other room. They sounded like grownup voices. TK quietly turned the knob and tiptoed out into the hallway. He slowly made his way towards the living room.   
  
As he got closer he recognized the voices as his mom's and dad's. 'That's funny,' he thought, 'it had been a long time since they had seen each other, let alone be in the same room as one another.' They had been separated for awhile. The voices kept getting louder and louder. They were obviously fighting. Tears began to form at the corners of TK's eyes. 'Why did they always have to fight? Why couldn't they just love each other?' He thought sadly. He let out a muffled sob.  
  
Suddenly, the shouting stopped and TK heard foot steps coming towards him. His father saw it was TK who had been making noise. He scooped him up in his arms and brought him to the couch.  
  
"Son," his father began, "There's something we need to talk about. You're mother and I have decided to get a divorce."  
  
TK looked as if he was about to start crying again. His father continued.  
  
"And we think you're old enough to know...." he paused, "that's it's all your fault."  
  
TK's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "W..What?!?"  
  
"Yes son. You are the wedge that had driven us apart. It was all because of you that your mother and I fight all the time. You made us get a separation and now you're the reason we're getting a divorce. If we had never had you we would still be happily married."  
  
Tears now streamed down TK's face. 'It is all my fault. Why hadn't I figured it out? It's all true.' He thought.  
  
His mother spoke up. "Well, we have to decide who gets what not that we're divorcing. I decided I want Matt."  
  
"Oh no you don't. I want Matt." TK's father yelled back.  
  
"What makes you think I want TK. Every time I look at him I'm reminded what he did to our marriage."  
  
The bickering continued between his parents. TK turned and saw Matt leaning against his bedroom door frame. "Thanks a lot, 'bro.'" Matt snarled. "This is all your fault."  
  
TK got up and ran to his bedroom. He threw himself down on his bed and cried himself to sleep.  
  
  
Down Below  
  
Sora sat on a towel on the bake of the underground lake. She wrapped another towel around her shoulders so that she would dry off and not get cold. She watched Gryphonmon climb the walls and then jump into the lake from various heights. Sora pondered what she was going to ask Gryphonmon as her next question.  
  
Gryphonmon did one last dive and then swam to the shore. She shook the excess water off her body and then began to towel herself off.   
  
"Why did you save me?" Sora blurted out.  
  
Gryphonmon turned her head and gazed at Sora. "You want to know why I saved you? Wow, I wasn't expecting that, and I'm psychic."  
  
Sora smiled slightly. "Sorry, but you did save me from a horrible death and I was wondering what made you do it. Unless, you just sit in your tunnels waiting for people to fall off the cliff."  
  
Gryphonmon came and sat on a towel next to Sora. "To be honest Sora, part of it is so make up for the past."  
  
"The past?"  
  
"Yes. After my village was destroyed I traveled the digital world searching for others of my kind. Many years I spent searching, but it was all in vain. I could not locate another Gryphonmon or DarkGryphonmon. When I realized that I was truly alone, something inside of me snapped. My personality did a complete 180. I started attacking other digimon for no reason at all. I was on a rampage. I no longer cared what happened to myself,.....or to anyone else for that matter. I did a lot of horrible things."  
  
"But, you don't seem that way anymore."  
  
Gryphonmon sighed. "Several years ago, something happened to me that changed me back. There was a horrible storm in the digital world. I took shelter in an outcropping of rocks by a waterfall. I heard quite a commotion. I climbed up from my perch, a saw some Koromon racing down the bank of river. One of them had fallen in the water and was heading for the waterfall. I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn't my problem after all. I started to climb back down when I looked at the Koromon in the water. He was staring at me, his eyes filled with fear. No matter what I did, I could not turn away. His eyes, they looked exactly like DarkGryphonmon's as he lay dying in my arms. That moment I jumped into the river and swam to the Koromon. I reached him just as we went over the edge of the waterfall. Luckily, my wings were working then. We fell about half way until I was able to right myself and I flew him back up to the top. The Koromon were very grateful. Ever since then, I have been trying to make up for all the misdeeds I did." Gryphonmon fell silent, and just stared at the ground.  
  
Sora looked at the digimon. "Thank you for saving my life." She said quietly.   
  
"You're welcome Sora. I'm glad I was able to help you."  
  
"C'mon Gryphonmon. Let's head back up and I'll tend to your wing. I knew that first aid kit would come in handy. And then it's your turn to ask me another question." Sora smiled and she started to get dressed.  
  
Gryphonmon smiled back as she gathered the towels and the two headed back from where they came from.   
  
  
Up Above  
  
Tai held Kari in his arms and watched his little sister sleep. Once upon a time he thought she was just an annoyance, there to pester him day in and day out. He gazed as her still form and felt ashamed that he ever thought anything like that. Kari was, hands down, the most unselfish person he knew. She was always thinking of other people first. Tai couldn't imagine his life without her. He laid his sister gently on the ground and walked to the side of the cage. When he was sure the Harpiemon were far enough away he called out.  
  
"Agumon, c'mere buddy."  
  
Agumon made his way to the side of his cage.   
  
"You guys come up with a plan yet?"  
  
Agumon grimaced. "Sorry Tai, but all our plans involve digivolving and we're not exactly in a position to do so. You and the others help us digivolve, but as you can see, the others aren't able to provide much help at the moment. We're feeling the effects of what Diablomon does to you. Only Gatomon and I are slightly better off then the rest, and that's not saying much. That won't last long though, I have a feeling."  
  
Tai just stared at the ground. "But we can't lose to this guy. Not after all we've done."  
  
"I agree. But until an opportunity presents itself, there's really nothing we can do."  
  
They were interrupted as Diablomon appeared, carrying TK in his arms. TK looked horrible. It was obvious that he had been crying, a lot. Diablomon put him back in the cage. TK just kind of wandered around, not really sure what to do with himself. TK saw Matt in the corner and started to cry again, as he took a seat on the opposite side of the cage. 'Poor guy.' Tai thought.  
  
Diablomon spoke up. "And then there were two. Which one will go next? I know, I'll use the scientific method." He started doing Inie Meanie Minie Moe.  
  
'Please let it be me.' Tai thought to himself. He wanted to spare Kari from going through this for as long as possible.  
  
"My mother told me to pick the very best one and you....are....it!" Diablomon pointed directly at Kari.  
  
"NO!" screamed Tai as he lunged at Diablomon. Diablomon was expected it though and grabbed Tai by the throat. He started to squeeze, very hard. Tai began to cough, and eventually he couldn't breath at all. He struggled, but it was in vain. He started to feel himself losing consciousness as Kari spoke.  
  
"Stop!! Leave him alone. He's just trying to protect me. I'll go with you quietly if you just put him down."  
  
Diablomon looked at Kari and released his hold on Tai. Tai fell to the ground gasping for air. Kari walked out of the cage with Diablomon right at her heels.  
  
Tears streamed down Tai's cheeks as he watched his little sister head for the crevice in the ground.  
  
  
Down Below  
  
Back in main room, Sora got out her first aid kit and instructed Gryphonmon to sit on the couch. She walked over to examine the wing. There was a very large, nasty cut on it from that run in with the tree.  
  
Sora grimaced. "Why didn't you let me take care of this when we first got here?"  
  
Gryphonmon shrugged. "I've had worse. And besides, it looks a lot worse then it feels."  
  
Sora arched a skeptical eyebrow. Taking some gauze and some hydrogen peroxide, she dampened the gauze and pressed it to the wound. Gryphonmon's back arched as she let out a cry of pain.  
  
"Oh yeah? I bet it feels worse then it looks." Sora replied.  
  
Gryphonmon settled down and let Sora tend to her wing. "Nothing gets by you, does it Sora?"  
  
"Not really. I pride myself on being a very observant person."  
  
"Then I think I have my question. Would you tell me more about your self and your friends? I've heard how you defeated all those bad digimon, but you haven't really said much about you or them personally."  
  
"Absolutely." Sora smiled as she began her descriptions of the digidestined.  
  
"Let's see...I guess I'll start with Joe. He's the oldest in our group. His crest is the crest of reliability. If you ever need to count on someone, it would be Joe. He'll stick by you through think and thin. He's a bit of a pessimist though. His digimon is Gomamon. He's the party animal of the group. He enjoys playing tricks on everyone, especially Joe. He's also a bit of a hot head, ready to jump into the fray at a moments notice. Next, we have Izzy. He has the crest of knowledge. It's no wonder since he is extremely smart. His most prized possession is his laptop, which has come in handy more than once. His digimon is Tentomon. He and Izzy are perfectly matched. Both are smart and don't show much outward emotion. Despite that, they still care deeply for each other. Then we have Matt. Matt is our resident 'cool guy.' He's a very laid back and takes things as they come. His crest is that of friendship. Even though Matt doesn't like to acknowledge it, he's a great friend and has helped us out of a lot of sticky situations. He took some time off from the group to figure things out for himself, but he came back to us, showing that he really was a true friend. Matt's digimon is Gabumon. Gabumon is very shy and not very outspoken. In that aspect, he and Matt are perfect for each other. He is also one of two digimon who can digivolve into Mega forms. TK is Matt's little brother and about 3 years younger then us. At first, we thought he was just silly little kid tagging along, but TK has grown up a lot through all our adventures. He can take care of himself, and the rest of us as well. His crest if that of hope. We look at TK and we see hope for the future. TK's partner is Patamon. Patamon is very outgoing and is very protective of TK. His feelings get hurt easily, but he also is very forgiving. Next we have Mimi. If there was one word to describe Mimi, it would be pink. Everything she owns is pink, and if it's not, then she dyes it pink. Her crest in sincerity. While Mimi always speaks what's on her mind she is also the most sincere and frank of any of us. She doesn't like to see anyone, human or digimon, get hurt. Her digimon is Palmon. Palmon is a great friend. She's not afraid to tell Mimi when she's out of line, but at the same time she is also there for anyone who needs a shoulder to cry on. Next we have Tai. He's our leader and is very brave. That's probably why his crest is the one of courage. He's always willing to fight and to protect. He and I play on a soccer team together back on earth. His partner is Agumon. Agumon is fiercely loyal and the other digimon who can digivolve into Mega, when we need a little more power. Tai's little sister, Kari, is the eighth digidestined and the newest member of our group. Her crest is the one of light. She's pure and good, and everything else that light represents. She's always thinking of other's first. Her digimon is Gatomon. She's fiercely protective of Kari. She's had a tough life up to this point. But when you see how she looks at Kari, you know that things are better for her now, and will continue to get better. Finally there's me. I love to play soccer. I live with my mom back on earth. She owns a flower shop and loves to garden. For awhile, I thought she didn't love me. But I came to realize that she does love me, and always will. My crest is the one of love. My digimon is Biyomon. She's my best friend and I don't know what I would do without her." Sora finished that statement and looked very sad.  
  
Gryphonmon spoke up. "Don't worry Sora. Soon we will head back up. You'll see Biyomon and the others again."  
  
Sora blinked. "Do the tunnels extend all the way up to the top?"  
  
"Sadly no, they only go up for about 60 more feet. I'd fly us up there, but that's not an option just yet. Our only choice is to climb the rest of the way."  
  
Sora wasn't too thrilled with the idea of climbing up the side of the cliff. She wasn't afraid of heights, it was falling that bothered her.  
  
"Don't worry Sora, if I didn't drop you before then I won't drop you when we climb again."  
  
Sora paused a moment before speaking again. "Do you think my friends are OK?"  
  
Gryphonmon winced. "Depend on what you mean by OK. I'm sure their alive. Diablomon likes to play with his victims before he takes their souls. What kind of shape their in mentally, I don't know. But chances are that it's not good."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Diablomon likes to break a person's soul before he takes it. He does so by making his victims live out their worst fears while they sleep. He does it over and over again until they are close to death, then he takes their souls from their bodies."  
  
Sora shuddered. "I hope we can reach them in time."  
  
"We will, if I have anything to say about it." Gryphonmon replied.  
  
Sora nodded. She stared into the fire, lost in thought.  
  
  
Underworld  
  
Kari walked through the corridors of Diablomon's castle. She was nervous but was doing a fairly good job of not showing it. 'Tai would want me to be brave,' she thought to herself.   
  
"Here we are, my little child of light."  
  
Kari entered the small room and turned to Diablomon.  
  
"I think I know why you take souls." She said.  
  
"Because I enjoy it and it make me very powerful." Diablomon replied.  
  
"No, that's not it." Kari countered.  
  
Diablomon stopped and stared at the child. "What do you think then?"  
  
"I think you take souls because you don't have one of your own. No one with a soul could do the horrible things that you do."  
  
Diablomon reached down and grabbed Kari by the scruff of her neck and brought her near his face. "Don't you ever talk to me like that again!! I am the all powerful Diablomon! Keeper of the souls of the damned! I have more souls then I even know what to do with. You only have one."  
  
"At least mine is my own." Kari said quietly.  
  
Diablomon touched her head and dropped her unconscious form to the floor. "That may be.......but soon your soul will belong to me."  
  
  
Kari's Nightmare  
  
Kari opened her eyes to see herself back on earth. She took in the surroundings and was having a sense of deja-vu.  
  
She suddenly saw Phantomon. He had just called on Snimon and Tuskmon to battle with Garudamon and WereGarurumon. Kari realized she must be reliving the memories of the battle with Myotismon on earth. She realized what she had to do next.  
  
"Stop! If you leave my friends alone, I'll go with you quietly. Please, I don't want to see anyone get hurt."  
  
"What a refreshing attitude." Phantomon's voice purred. "But....I think not."  
  
With that Snimon and Tuskmon savagely attacked Garudamon and WereGarurumon. It was a short battle, and in the end, the two good digimon lost, and were deleted. Phantomon turned to Sora and Matt who stood on the ground, mourning their friends.  
  
"Now, it's your turn." Phantomon said as he swung his Shadow Scythe. The blade descended on the two digidestined, and killed them instantly.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kari screamed. That wasn't supposed to happen. She was going to go with Phantomon quietly and her friends would be safe. Tears streamed down Kari's face as Phantomon transported her to Myotismon.  
  
Soon they arrived at the tower were Myotismon was trying to uncover the identity of the eight child using Gatomon.  
  
"Is this the eight child Gatomon?" Myotismon snarled.  
  
Gatomon shook her head. The little girl went and sat down with all the other frightened children.   
  
Through the bubble Kari was being transported in she could see Gatomon. Kari remembered that Gatomon had tried to protect her when she was brought before Myotismon. Gatomon grinned as she saw the bubble approaching.  
  
"There is the eight child!!" Gatomon yelled and pointed towards the bubble.  
  
Kari's jaw dropped. Her digimon had just given her up to Myotismon. 'How could this be happening?' Kari thought.  
  
"Well done, my minion." Myotismon turned his attention to Kari. "You see, my darling eighth child, this was an elaborate rouse to get you to reveal yourself."  
  
Kari stared at Gatomon. "H..How could you do this?"  
  
"How could I do this? Very easy actually. Myotismon took me in when no one else wanted me, and I owe him my loyalty and my life. In a way, this is your fault. If you had gone to summer camp with the others you might have found me, and I would be loyal to you instead. I wouldn't have had to be alone for such a long time." Gatomon growled.  
  
"Now as a special treat, I present to you the destruction of the digidestined!!" Myotismon stepped back to reveal the 5 other kids and their digimon, bound tightly together. Everyone looked very scared.  
  
Myotismon continued. "Now I have the crest and the digivice that I took from that worthless Wizardmon, whom Gatomon destroyed for me. And since Gatomon is the eighth digimon, I will use her power to further my own. Gatomon, digivolve!!"  
  
"Gatomon digivolve to...........DarkAngewomon!!  
  
Kari couldn't believe her eyes. The digimon before her barely resembled her Angewoman. She was dressed in a similar outfit but it was all black, and her face was twisted with hate and rage. She looked more like Ladydevimon than anything else.  
  
"If you would, DarkAngewomon." Myotismon said with a smug grin on his face.  
  
Kari turned to the other digidestined. All of them were crying and had fear etched across their faces.  
  
"Kari...please help us!" Tai sobbed.  
  
DarkAngewomon took position in front of them. She let loose a "Hell's Arrow." Her aim was true and it hit the digidestined straight on.   
  
There was a blinding flash, and Kari had to cover her eyes. When she opened them and the smoke had cleared, there was nothing left of the digidestined, save a very large scorch mark on the floor.  
  
Kari fell to her knees with tears streaming down her cheeks. "This wasn't supposed to happen." she said quietly. "I couldn't help them, any of them. They're dead because of me."  
  
Kari slipped into unconsciousness, with the sound of Myotismon laughing in the background.   
  
  
Up Above  
  
Tai paced nervously around the cage. His friends were in horrible condition, as well as the digimon. Diablomon had his sister and he had no idea what was happening to her. Out of frustration he kicked the bars of his cage.  
  
"Kari!" Tai heard Gatomon yell.  
  
Tai looked in the distance. He saw Kari trudging back towards the cage, accompanied by Diablomon's minions.  
  
"Kari are you all right? Please, say something." Gatomon implored.  
  
"Say something?! You want me to talk to you after you betrayed me to Myotismon, after you killed my friends?!!!" Kari screamed.   
  
Gatomon was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Myotismon won the battle back on earth because you turned me over to him. He had you destroy the rest of the digidestined!" Kari was on the verge of tears.  
  
Gatomon glanced at Tai and then at the rest of the digimon. Everyone was still there. Well, all except for Sora. 'Either Kari had been into too much catnip, or Diablomon did a number on her mind,' Gatomon thought.   
  
She narrowed her eyes. "And I will make him pay for that." She promised herself quietly.   
  
Kari went back into the cage and sat down in a vacated area. She didn't seem to be aware of anything else around her. Tai went and sat next to his sister and he put his arm around her. She didn't even acknowledge him. He looked at her with sad eyes. He hung his head and sighed. Suddenly, a shadow came over him. Diablomon stood outside the cage.  
  
"Well, child of courage, it appears your number is up. This way please." Diablomon smiled cruelly.  
  
Tai glanced around him at all of his friends. He hung his head and got up and headed for the door of the cage.   
  
'I didn't think this is how the digidestined would finally be defeated.' He thought to himself.   
  
It was time to join everyone else in a state of madness and despair. He walked toward the crevice, holding his head in his hands.   
  
  
Underworld  
  
Tai stood in the little room, trying to muster up all the courage he could. He decided to try and stall Diablomon. "So, how are you doing it?"  
  
"Isn't it obvious? I'm making them live out their worst nightmares while they sleep. For the digidestined, you are all a lot weaker then I had anticipated. I figure that one more round of this treatment and all your souls will belong to me."  
  
In his mind, Tai reluctantly agreed. He saw the others and how they were affected. They couldn't undergo much more of this.   
  
Diablomon touched Tai's head and Tai drifted off into dreamland. 'Soon,' Diablomon thought, 'my victory will be complete.'   
  
  
Tai's Nightmares  
  
Tai opened his eyes to find himself on a soccer field.   
  
'Wow.' he thought. 'I haven't played soccer in such a long time.'   
  
He surveyed the newly painted lines and the fresh cut grass. He was admiring it all when he saw something that made his heart stop.  
  
There was Sora, practicing penalty shots at the near end of the field. He ran up to her.  
  
"Sora, you're all right!!" Tai said as he just barely restrained himself from throwing his arms around her.  
  
Sora looked at him oddly. "Of course I'm all right Tai. Why wouldn't I be?" She asked quizzically.  
  
"Never mind. All that matters is that we're together again. I'm so glad you're OK!"  
  
Sora raised her eyebrows. Such an emotional outburst from Tai was truly unexpected. Especially since it was directed at her. He also had kind of a goofy grin on his face.  
  
"Sora, I was wondering if you would like to watch the sunset this evening with me? You know, on that rock ledge on the outskirts of town. The one over looking the ocean. I feel like I haven't seen you in such a long time. We should really catch up."  
  
Sora nodded, thinking Tai had taken one too many soccer balls to the head.  
  
Later that evening Tai and Sora walked to the rock ledge to watch the sunset. After several moments of silence, Sora spoke.  
  
"OK Tai, what gives? You've been acting really strange today."  
  
"No I haven't." Tai said, a bit defensively.  
  
"Oh please. When was the last time we watched a sunset together. If I recall correctly, the number would be zero. You're acting like I died or something. Are you going to tell me what's really bothering you?"  
  
"It's just............never mind." Tai couldn't bring himself to tell her what was really going through his mind.  
  
"Fine." Sora replied shortly. She got up and walked dangerously close to the edge of the rock ledge  
  
Tai walked over to her. Sora wheeled around to face him.  
  
"I thought we were friends. I thought we could share things with one another. But you can't even tell me what's really on your mind. Tai, if you can't trust me enough to tell me what you're really feeling, then maybe we shouldn't be friends anymore."   
  
Tai felt as if he had been slapped in the face. Sora stepped backwards away from him. As her weight shifted, the top part of the rock she stepped on gave way. She began to fall backwards.  
  
Tai quickly shot his hand forward and caught Sora's hand as she fell over the ledge. He was holding on as tight as he could, but he still felt her slipping through his fingers.  
  
"Don't let me go Tai!!" Sora yelled, with an intense look of fear on her face.   
  
She continued to slip through his grasp, no matter how Tai tried to hold on. Tai gritted his teeth, trying in vain to keep his grasp on her hand. Gravity finally won and pulled Sora away from him. She screamed as she fell into the sharp rocks and the ocean below.  
  
Tai knelt at the top of the cliff, hot tears falling from his eyes. He just kept repeating to himself over and over again. "It's my fault she's dead........It's my fault she's dead....."  
  
Tai blacked out, and he welcomed the blessed oblivion.  
  
  
Tai awoke to find himself at home on his couch. 'It was all a dream.' He thought to himself as he sighed. He didn't really let Sora fall off that cliff. He had never felt so relieved in his life.  
  
Tai walked into his kitchen to get something to drink. He noticed his sister sitting at the table, coloring with crayons. Tai thought she looked a little pale, but didn't pay too much attention to it.   
  
"Hey Kari. I'm going out to the soccer field. You better come with me, since Mom and Dad aren't home."  
  
Kari nodded. She silently gathered her stuff and followed the Tai out the door.   
  
At the field, Tai was practicing his dribbling, kicking, head balls and penalty shots. Kari still sat on the side lines still coloring, looking kind of sickly. Tai continued his practicing for a little while. While he was doing sprints, he was oblivious to the fact that Kari had passed out on the grass. After completing his run, Tai walked over to Kari.  
  
"C'mon, time to go." Tai said. He figured she had fallen asleep. He bent down to shake her.  
  
"Let's go Kari. We need to go home." He said as he shook his sister. She still didn't move. It suddenly dawned on Tai that she wasn't just asleep, but completely unconscious.  
  
"Kari!!" Tai screamed.   
  
He panicked for an instant. With his mind racing, he picked up his little sister and started running back to his apartment. He burst through the door and laid her on the couch. He ran and dialed 911. The operator said an ambulance would be there soon. Tai hung up the phone and walked back to his sister. He gazed at her with worried eyes. Her breathing was so shallow. He closed his eyes to fight the tears that were forming.  
  
"T..Tai?" A weak voice said.  
  
Tai opened his eyes and glanced at Kari. Her eyes were open, just barely He knelt down next to her.  
  
"Yes, Kari?"   
  
"When will the pain stop?"  
  
"Soon. Very soon." Tai said as he gently stroked her cheek.  
  
"Good." Kari replied as she closed her eyes. She took a few more shallow breaths and then her breathing completely stopped.  
  
"Kari?.....Kari!!!" Tai shook his sister, but she didn't respond.  
  
A few moments later the paramedics burst through the door and took Kari away. They told Tai he couldn't come with them. When they left, Tai grabbed some money and called for a cab. Ten minutes later he was at the hospital sitting in the waiting room. About an hour later, Tai's parents showed up and sat with him. It seemed like forever, but eventually a doctor came to speak with him.  
  
"Kari had a relapse of the same type of pneumonia she had several years ago. Her lungs filled with fluid and she stopped breathing. Her heart stopped as well." The doctor paused. "We did everything we could to try and restart her heart, but all our efforts failed. She didn't survive. I'm so sorry."  
  
Tai's mom broke into hysterics as his father tried his best to console her. The doctor stayed with his parents as Tai got up from his chair. He wandered through the hospital corridors numbly. He passed by one set of doors and peered through them. He saw his sister lying on a table, covered mostly by a white sheet. he pushed through the doors and went inside. He stood beside the table and looked at her still form.  
  
The tears were freely flowing. "It's all my fault. It happened again and I wasn't paying attention." He touched her cheek, it was still slightly warm. He remembered when Kari went to the hospital a few years ago. It had been his fault then too. She almost died then, but she was strong and she recovered. Tai vowed that he would never be so careless again. But, he realized that he had broken that vow. All the warning signs were there and he just ignored them. And now his little sister was gone forever.  
  
He leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. "Good-bye Kari. Wherever you are, I hope you'll watch over Mom and Dad, and maybe even me. I know you'll do a better job then I did for you. Please forgive me."   
  
Tai put his head on his arms and sobs emanated from the very depths of his soul. He was in too much pain and his mind slipped into unconsciousness.   
  
  
Down Below  
  
"Earth to Sora."  
  
Sora shook her head. She must have zoned out.  
  
"Is the fire really that fascinating? If it is, you might be a aspiring pyromaniac." Gryphonmon grinned  
  
Sora picked up a pillow off the couch and threw it at the digimon. Gryphonmon caught it and hurled back at Sora catching her in the head.  
  
Sora rubbed the side of her head. "Nice shot."  
  
"Thank you. But hurling objects at you was not my reason for bringing you out of your trance like state. I wanted to inquire if you were ready to climb up to the top of the cliff?"  
  
Sora jumped off the couch. She curtly nodded her head. She wanted badly to see her friends again.  
  
"Follow me then." Gryphonmon removed something from one of the wooden chests and then went to the opposite wall they had entered from and disappeared through it. Sora followed suit.  
  
In this different tunnel, there were two torches directly outside of the room but the rest of the corridor was completely dark. Gryphonmon took one of the torches.   
  
"These tunnels haven't been used in a very long time, that's why there's no light."  
  
"Why haven't they been used?" Sora asked.  
  
"Too many bad memories. Wondering through the tunnels just reminded me of all the digimon that once lived here. I closed off most of the tunnels, save for the few that I used more often. I haven't been through this one in ages. This is the highest one. It'll take us up for a few more meters, but then we have to go out and climb the rest of the way."  
  
Sora stuck close to her digimon friend. She wasn't afraid of the dark, but getting lost in this labyrinth was not on her to do list.   
  
Gryphonmon chuckled. "What's the matter? Don't you like mazes?"  
  
"Only when they're on paper." Sora replied  
  
They continued their ascent for awhile until they came to the end of the tunnel. It appeared to be a dead end to the untrained eye, but Sora knew it had to be another barrier. Gryphonmon stepped through it and beckoned for Sora to follow. Sora passed through the barrier and gasped. She was standing on a small ledge right outside the barrier. Her jaw dropped as she saw just how high up they were. It was morning and fog had collected towards the bottom of the cliff. She couldn't even see the bottom. Sora moved to her right and pressed her back against the wall.  
  
Gryphonmon appeared to be strapping something to her body. It appeared to be some sort of harness. 'That must of been what Gryphonmon removed from the chest,' Sora thought.  
  
"The young lady is one hundred percent correct. Tell her what she's won!" Gryphonmon said as she smiled. "This way I can use both my claws to climb instead of using one to hang onto you. Climb on my back and I'll strap you in."  
  
Sora did as she was told. Gryphonmon strapped Sora securely to her and tested all of the straps and buckles. When she was satisfied, she spoke.  
  
"You can wrap your arms around my neck if that'll make you feel more safe."  
  
Sora gladly complied with that suggestion. Even though she knew she was securely fastened to this digimon, it was of little comfort that the only thing between her and sweet oblivion were some straps and buckles.  
  
"Onward and upward." Gryphonmon said as she dug her claws deep into the rock and started for the top.  
  
  
Up Above  
  
The digimon and the digidestined laid strewn about their individual cages, all of them looking incredibly worse for wear.   
  
Agumon sat at the side of the cage facing the crevice in the ground. Worry lines creasing his brow. 'How much longer will he keep Tai down there?' He thought to himself.  
  
Palmon spoke up. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"There's nothing we can do. That maniac is destroying the digidestined and in the process is also destroying us." Gomamon replied.  
  
"That's kind of a negative attitude, isn't it?" Palmon shot back.  
  
"What? Do you want me to be a ray of sunshine and hope? This digimon is the worst we come up against. We gave it our best shot and we failed. This guy is the one who finally beat the digidestined. So I would appreciate it if you would stop with your optimist attitude." Gomamon replied.  
  
"Leave her alone, Gomamon." Gabumon spoke up.  
  
"And what exactly are you going to do about, Wolfie?"  
  
Gomamon and Gabumon got into a fight. They couldn't use their powers but they still swung at each other. Patamon and Tentomon restrained Gomamon and Palmon and Agumon held back Gabumon. Gatomon raised her voice so that she could be heard above the noise.  
  
"Stop it! All of you!! Don't you see? This is exactly what Diablomon wants. They more we fight between ourselves the less we'll be able to fight him. The only chance we have is to try and snap them out of it." She gestured to the other cage.   
  
Everyone continued to bicker. Palmon walked over the side of the cage close to the other one.  
  
"Mimi?" She asked quietly.  
  
Mimi looked up. "Leave me alone, you......you ghost!"  
  
Palmon continued unfazed. "Mimi, if I were a ghost, would I be able to touch you?" As she said this she extended her vines through the bars and gently brushed Mimi's arm.   
  
Mimi's mouth dropped open. 'The ghost did have a point,' she thought to herself.  
  
"And for that matter, there's no way you could be the person you described. You would never purposely hurt anyone, especially your friends. It was just a horrible dream. That's all it was, just a dream. Mimi, I love and I would never lie to you. Please believe me."  
  
With those words a fog seemed to lift from Mimi's mind. She realized she was back in the cage with all her friends. She wasn't dressed all in black and she wasn't a murderer. Tears streamed down her cheeks.  
  
"Palmon, I'm so sorry." Mimi cried quietly.  
  
"It's OK. I'm here now. And nothing is ever going to change that." Palmon wrapped her vines around Mimi and held her while she cried.   
  
Gatomon broke away from the other bickering digimon. She witnessed what had happened with Mimi and Palmon. She hoped that it would work with Kari.  
  
"Kari?"  
  
"What do you want, betrayer?"  
  
Gatomon was hurt, but only for an instant. She continued. "Kari, what you went through wasn't real. It was just a horrible dream. I would never betray you to Myotismon. If you recall, I betrayed him to join you. I spent all my life waiting for you, and now that you and I are together, it's like I just started really living. You completed me and I would sooner die then hurt you in any way. Look around you. If I destroyed all your friends, then why are they all here around you?"  
  
Kari blinked several times. Gatomon was right, her friends weren't destroyed. They were all around her. If that was true, then they had to have defeated Myotismon. They, the digidestined, had prevailed. Kari turned back to Gatomon.  
  
"Thanks, I needed that. And.....I'm sorry." Kari stared at the ground.   
  
Gatomon reached her paw through the bars and took Kari's hand. "All is forgiven. I could never be mad at you."  
  
Tentomon decided to try his luck next. He called out to Izzy, who was still in the fetal position.  
  
"Izzy! C'mon Izzy, snap out of it. If we lived in an age with no computers or no modern technology, would I be here talking to you? Think about it. I made up of digital bits of information. How could I exist without modern technology."  
  
Izzy rubbed his eyes and sat up.  
  
"As for your parents, Izzy, you know in your heart that they wouldn't trade you for anything in the world. They love you so much. It makes me wish that I had a digimommy and digidaddy. It was just a bad dream Izzy. It's over now."  
  
Izzy got to his feet and gave his digimon a weak smile, but it was a smile none the less. "Thanks pal, I needed that."  
  
"Don't mention it. Tentomon replied.   
  
Patamon fluttered over to the edge of their cage. He called out to a sobbing TK.  
  
"TK, your parents got divorced because they had problems they couldn't work out. But those problems had nothing to do with you whatsoever. They both love you very much and it wasn't because of you that they separated. Diablomon put those thoughts in your head. Please, TK, you have to believe me."  
  
TK looked up and directly into Patamon's eyes. 'He would never lie to me,' thought TK. 'Mommy and Daddy didn't like each other so much anymore, but they still loved me and Matt.'  
  
TK wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded to Patamon.  
  
Gabumon and Gomamon suddenly stopped fighting. They decided to let bygones be bygones and joined the others.  
  
"Joe!" Gomamon called out.  
  
"Leave me be. Why would you want to talk to a janitor anyway?"  
  
"Oh Joe. You know that none of that stuff ever happened. You're the smartest person I know. You wanted to go to summer school instead of summer camp, remember? Would an aspiring janitor want to do that? I don't think so. C'mon Joe, a smart guy like you should know better than to believe that load of garbage Diablomon fed you."  
  
Joe blinked and seemed to snap out of his stupor. Gomamon was right, after all. Joe was going to grow up to be a great doctor. Joe smiled for the first time in a long time, and Gomamon smiled right back.  
  
Gabumon looked sadly at Matt. He finally got up enough courage to speak.  
  
"Matt, you know that you would never hurt TK. Ever since you came to the digital world you've spent every waking moment worrying about your little brother, trying to protect him. You were experiencing some horrible dream. But that's all it is, Matt, a very bad dream. TK is just fine. Look at him. He's not an angel, at least not in the sense you think. It's Patamon who turns into an angel. Anyway, Matt, you've got to snap out of it. TK's all right, we all are. Please Matt, come back to me."  
  
Matt picked his head off of his arms. He slowly got up and crossed over to wear TK was. He gently touched his little brother on the head. He sure felt real, Matt thought. Matt scooped his little brother up into a monster hug. "I love you, TK." Matt said quietly.  
  
"I love you too Matt." TK replied.   
  
Agumon interrupted everyone. "Look!" He yelled.  
  
Diablomon was coming out of the crevice in the ground, with an incredibly sad looking Tai walking in front of him. He looked the worse of everyone who had gone through Diablomon's treatment. Harpiemon escorted Tai into the cage and Diablomon laughed.  
  
"I see that you seem to have recovered some what from my treatment. No matter. You will still be haunted by the memory of what you experienced. Another round of the treatment will finish you off, and this time there will be no one to help you out of your own personal hells." With that he turned to the Digimon.  
  
"Forever Darkness." He said with a sinister laugh.   
  
Black fog emanated from his finger tips and engulfed the digimon, all except Biyomon, who had been at the opposite corner of the cage. The other seven digimon fell unconscious to the floor, all a sickly grey color.  
  
"No! Leave them alone!" Izzy shouted.  
  
"They may have helped you once, but it was for the last time. When I get through with you a second time, your souls will belong to me. I will give you some time alone before I begin the second round. Consider it an act of good will on my part. I will return when the sun sets." With that, Diablomon departed back to the underworld, leaving some Harpiemon to guard the digidestined.  
  
The digidestined sat in their cage, sadly watching over their hurt digimon, and seeing the sun slowly climb higher in the morning sky.   
  
  
Down Below  
  
Gryphonmon was climbing at a fairly good pace up the side of the cliff. Sora looked up at the distance they had left to go. She wanted to reach her friends as quickly as possible.  
  
Unbeknownst, for the moment, to the two climbers a pair of Harpiemon were flying nearby on patrol. One of the sharp-eyed Harpiemon spotted something climbing up the cliff.  
  
"What do you sssssspose that isssss?" Hissed the Harpiemon.  
  
"I don't know, but we better invessssstigate." Replied the other. They made a bee line for the climbers.  
  
Gryphonmon psychically sensed the approaching enemy, she stopped climbing and remained perfectly still. Her body was very tense. After a few moments she spoke to Sora.  
  
"Listen to me. Some of Diablomon's underlings have spotted us. It'll be a few minutes before they reach us. I need you to untie the bandage from my wing."  
  
Sora did as she was told. The cut on Gryphonmon's wing was still looked pretty bad. Sora winced. "You're wing isn't healed enough yet. How are you going to be able to fly with it?"  
  
"I don't know. I'll have to figure something out though, because we're sitting ducks if we stay on this rock wall. Wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight."  
  
Gryphonmon went back to being perfectly still. Her eyes were closed, like she was deep in thought. She looked like a statue. Sora wondered what she was doing.  
  
"I'm listening to their thoughts. They're devising a plan of attack, and now I can counter attack because I know every move they're going to make even before they make it. Here we go, hold on tight."  
  
The two Harpiemon zoomed in and let out a Screech Song. Just before their blasts hit, Gryphonmon let go of the rock and fell. They fell for only and instant when Gryphonmon opened her wings and caught a breeze. She let out a small cry of pain, and winced every time she beat her wings. She flew away from the rock and faced the Harpiemon.  
  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? It appears to be a Gryphonmon." One Harpiemon commented. "I thought you were all extinct. No matter, we shall remedy that soon enough. And with you will go the digi-brat you managed to save."  
  
"Squawk, squawk, squawk. Don't you uglies ever shut up?" Gryphonmon said as her eyes flashed blue.  
  
Both Harpiemon roared in rage and unleashed two more Screech Songs. Gryphonmon easily avoided each one and then unleashed an attack of her own.  
  
"Psychic Blade."  
  
A sword materialized in Gryphonmon's hand which seemed to come out of no where. She swung the sword in a high curve. From the sword shot a blue arc of light, that matched the color of Gryphonmon's eyes. The arc of light hit both Harpiemon and deleted them instantly. Sora watched all of this in amazement from over Gryphonmon's shoulder. With the enemy neutralized, Gryphonmon let out another cry of pain and grabbed her injured wing. Battling had just made the wound worse. Gryphonmon glided back to the cliff and latched on with her strong claws. She let out a huge sigh of relief.  
  
"Almost didn't make it back to the wall. That was a close one."   
  
"Nah. We made it by a mile." Sora said as she smiled. "Shall we continue our climb, before we are so rudely interrupted again?"  
  
"By all means." Gryphonmon smiled back as she continued climbing towards the top.  
  
  
Up Above  
  
The digidestined sat around their cage looking very distraught. It was close to mid afternoon, which meant they only had a couple of more hours until Diablomon returned. They alternated between worrying about that, worrying about their digimon and worrying about Tai. Ever since he came back, he laid down on the floor of the cage and had put his arm over his eyes. After awhile he mumbled something.  
  
"I killed them.....I killed them both."  
  
"Who did you kill, Tai?" Matt asked.  
  
"Sora and Kari. They're both dead because of me." Tai said, his voice shaking.  
  
The others looked at each other. Sora was dead, but it wasn't Tai's fault. Diablomon had thrown her over the cliff. And Kari was standing right there with them.  
  
Kari walked over to her brother. "Tai, you didn't kill me. I'm right here........I'm fine."  
  
Tai didn't hear her or even acknowledge her. Tears formed at the corner of Kari's eyes. She wanted to badly to help her brother, but there was nothing she could do.  
  
Joe stood at one end of the cage with his hands wrapped around the bars. He was watching their digimon. All of them, except Biyomon, were still unconscious and a very sickly shade of grey. Everyone once in awhile, one of them would twitch or stir, but they never opened their eyes.   
  
'At least they won't be awake when the end comes,' Joe thought to himself.  
  
  
Biyomon sat in the corner of the cage and watched her fallen friends. She wanted to help them, but there was nothing she could do. She was weak, completely drained of power. She also did not have any will power left. Diablomon was able to break her without even laying a finger on her. It felt as if her heart had shattered into a million pieces. Losing her best friend was absolutely devastating.   
  
"Sora, I don't know if you can hear me, where ever you are, but, I'll say this anyway. You're my best friend. I will love and miss you always. And.....I'm so sorry." Biyomon whispered to herself as a tear traced a line down her cheek.  
  
  
Down Below  
  
As they continued their climb, suddenly both Sora and Gryphonmon were surrounded by a faint red glow.  
  
"What's going on?" Asked Gryphonmon.   
  
Sora smiled. "It's my crest. It's glowing. Biyomon must be thinking about me. That means she's alive!"  
  
Gryphonmon smiled back. After a moment she spoke again.  
  
"Sora, I don't mean to dampen you spirits but I have to tell you what to expect when we get up there. Your friends, in all likely hood, will be not how you left them. They might even be shells of their former selves. Diablomon is very powerful and can make anyone live out their worst nightmare. And when that has happened enough, the fear breaks their spirits and then they belong to him. I just want to prepare you for what we might encounter."  
  
Sora nodded, suddenly very concerned about the safety and well being of her friends.   
  
They continued climbing, the distance to the top growing shorter and shorter.  
  
  
Up Above  
  
It was getting close to sunset when they reached the very top of the cliff. Or rather, a small ledge just underneath the edge. After unhooking Sora from the harness, Gryphonmon hooked her claws over the edge of the cliff and took in the surroundings. A moment later she lowered herself back down to the ledge.  
  
"You're friends are in cages several meters away. I counted fifteen individuals. The digimon, all except yours, are unconscious. That's probably Diablomon's doing."   
  
"How are we going to get them out?"  
  
"Right now, the plan is for me to distract him and you to sneak up to the cages and free your friends"   
  
"Won't those Harpiemon be guarding the cages though?" Sora asked, her brow creased.  
  
"Doubtful. They'll probably be attacking me as well. Diablomon was never one for a fair fight. After we climb up, a couple of feet away are some bushes. I want you to hide there until I can get Diablomon's attention. When you're sure he's fully distracted, I want you to make your way to the cages and free your friends. I'm going to need all the help I can get."  
  
"But I thought the digimon were unconscious?"  
  
"Don't worry about that. Just free them and I'll take care of the rest."  
  
Sora held her digivice in one hand and touched her crest with the other hand. This was going to be the biggest fight of her life to date. She nodded at Gryphonmon and the digimon gently lifted her up over the edge of the cliff. Sora looked around to make sure the coast was clear and then ran for the bushes. She crouched down and peered through the dense branches. From her vantage point she saw a dark figure starting to make it's way towards the cages. Sora felt her heartbeat quicken as she realized it was Diablomon.  
  
Sora looked back at Gryphonmon. The digimon had an intense stare fixed on Diablomon. Gryphonmon proceeded to climb over the edge of the cliff and then, slowly and quietly, began crawling on all fours, making her way towards Diablomon and the cages.  
  
Diablomon had reached the cages and Sora strained to hear what was going on.  
  
Diablomon let out a throaty laugh. "Did you enjoy you last moments?"  
  
Nobody answered. They all looked distraught.  
  
"I think I'll start with the weakest of you. That would be you, Tai. He was the last to undergo the treatment and he will be the easiest to remove a soul from." Diablomon started to reach for the door of the cage.  
  
"Psychic Blade!"  
  
The blast hit the ground just slightly to Diablomon's left. He looked up in the direction the blast had come from. The digidestined also all looked to see what could possibly be attacking Diablomon. Gryphonmon, sword in hand, walked towards the group and then stopped a few meters away from the cages.  
  
Diablomon narrowed his eyes. A small, evil smile tugged at his lips. "My, my, my. What do we have here? Why, it appears to be a Gryphonmon. And here I was thinking that I helped destroy you all." He momentarily forgot about the children and started making his way towards Gryphonmon. "It is of no matter. I will kill you like all the others and your kind will be truly extinct."  
  
"Do you think that scares me?" Gryphonmon said, her eyes flashing blue. "If I defeat you I rid the world of a truly terrible evil and have vengeance against the one who destroyed my kind. If I lose, and you destroy me permanently, then I am free of this lonely existence.....forever. Either way, I win."  
  
"We'll see about that. Harpiemon attack!!!"  
  
Several Harpiemon flew after Gryphonmon. She easily avoided them and destroyed many of them with a Psychic Blade.  
  
"Impressive. Most Impressive. But that was just a warm-up. Now it's my turn. Forever Darkness!!!"  
  
Gryphonmon dove and managed to avoid most of the dark fog, but not all of it. She was strong and was only momentarily stunned. Diablomon turned to face her, and in the process turned his back on Sora and the cages.  
  
Sora saw her chance and left her hiding place. She was going to make a wide arc so that she would approach the cages from the opposite side that was facing the cliff, the side the doors were on. This way, if Diablomon did turn around, he might not be able to immediately see her.   
  
Using his telekinetic power, Diablomon waved his hand through the air and knocked Gryphonmon backwards a great distance. Diablomon seemed intent on backing Gryphonmon toward the cliff.  
  
Gryphonmon stole a glance at the thicket where Sora was. She saw Sora quietly leave and she slowly mad her way towards the cages, taking a round about way as not to be spotted by Diablomon. 'Good girl,' Gryphonmon thought.   
  
That moment of distraction cost her though. Diablomon let loose an Underworld Inferno. Gryphonmon was enclosed in a red fireball and lifted high in the air. After a moment, the ball reversed momentum and plummeted back to the ground at an alarming rate. It crashed and shook the ground with great force. The ball disappeared revealing a hurt Gryphonmon lying on the ground. She got to her knees, very slowly.   
  
"Had enough?" Diablomon sneered.  
  
"Never. Psy Beam!!"  
  
Twin blue beams shot out of Gryphonmon's eyes and caught Diablomon directly in the head, knocking him over.  
  
  
"Wow, that one hurt him." Matt commented.  
  
"Good." Mimi replied. "He deserves whatever punishment he gets."  
  
"Who is that digimon anyway?" Joe asked.  
  
Izzy tapped on his computer for a moment and then began to read something off the screen. "It's a Gryphonmon. A mystical digimon that is part lion and part eagle. Thought to be completely extinct, this race of digimon were artistic, creative and were excellent warriors. Their kind was wiped out by a deadly virus many years ago."  
  
"We're lucky there's one left." TK commented.  
  
All the digidestined, save Biyomon and Tai, were watching the battle intensely. Sadly, all the other digimon were still unconscious from Diablomon's attack. None of them noticed that in the distance a figure was slowly making it's way towards them.   
  
  
Sora desperately wanted to run to the cages and free her friends, but she knew that wasn't an option. If Diablomon spotted her, it would be all over.   
  
"Slow and steady." She told herself, as she continued her journey.  
  
  
Diablomon was slow in getting up. Gryphonmon's powerful attack had caught him completely off guard and had hurt him a lot. He wasn't about to let it show though.  
  
"Was that your best shot?" He asked, laughing slightly.  
  
She didn't respond, she just brandished her sword menacingly.  
  
"So it's a little hand to hand combat you want. I'm up for that." As Diablomon said that a sword appeared in his hand. It was very large and evil looking. It appeared to be something a warlord would carry. He rushed at her and the battle continued. Diablomon was still trying to back Gryphonmon towards the cliff.  
  
"I know what you're trying to do, but I have wings and I can fly." Gryphonmon said.  
  
"That may be, but it appears that you can't fly very well judging from the looks of that." Diablomon said, gesturing towards Gryphonmon's injury. "And anyway, you won't be doing much flying when I remove your wings from your body."  
  
Diablomon parried a blow from Gryphonmon, and delivered a kick to her midsection. It knocked her down and dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.  
  
  
Sora finally made her way to the cages. She decided against calling out because that might attract unwanted attention. When she got a closer look she was saddened by what she saw. All the digimon, except Biyomon were a grey color and unconscious. Biyomon herself didn't look much better off then the rest of them. Sora decided to free her digimon first, that way she could help in freeing the others.   
  
Biyomon was sitting against the side of the cage. Her back was to Sora. She was crying softly to herself.   
  
"I love and miss you so much, Sora. I wish you were here with me still. I'm sorry I let you down."  
  
Sora heard this and tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. She was touched by what Biyomon was saying. She walked up the cage and put her arms through the bars and wrapped them around Biyomon.  
  
Biyomon was startled as she felt someone hugging her. "What the...." She started to say as she turned around. She never got to finish her sentence though as she let out a cry of shock and surprise. Standing there was Sora, hugging her with tears in her eyes.   
  
"I love you too Biyomon. I'm here now and nothing is ever going to separate us ever again."  
  
She put released Biyomon and opened the door of the cage and stepped inside. Biyomon nearly tackled her to the ground. They were hugging, crying and laughing at the same time. After a few moments Biyomon spoke.   
  
"How? How are you still alive? We saw you go over the edge of the cliff."  
  
"I'll explain later. Right now I need you to help me free the others. A friend needs our help.  
  
Biyomon nodded as they began taking the unconscious digimon out of the cage.  
  
  
Gryphonmon rolled over and caught a glimpse over the edge of the cliff. It sure was a long way down. She brought her attention back to the battle. Diablomon was standing over her, sword raised above his head.  
  
"Good-bye, Gryphonmon. I've decided to take your soul instead of merely destroying you. I will add your power to my own and your soul will serve me for all eternity." He raised the sword higher and then began to swing it downward.  
  
"I think not." Gryphonmon rolled out of the way just in time as the sword struck the rock where her head had been a moment before. She continued rolling and disappeared right over the edge of the cliff. She opened her wings and glided a few feet away. The pain she felt was agony, but she had little choice.  
  
"You can't stay out there forever. Your injury will force you to land sometime, and then I will destroy you."  
  
"Promises, promises." Gryphonmon replied.   
  
He's right though, she thought. Her injured wing was giving out and she didn't have much time. Her mind was racing as she tried to come up with a plan.  
  
"Tick, tock, tick, tock. Times running out." Diablomon grinned menacingly.  
  
Gryphonmon looked to her right and then to her left. Then she looked up and she smiled. Furiously flapping her wings she climbed higher and higher into the air. She went so high that Diablomon shielded his eyes against the glare of the setting sun, but he lost sight of her.  
  
"What the heck is she doing?" Diablomon said to himself as he scanned the horizon. "Where is she?"  
  
Gryphonmon had taken cover behind some passing clouds. She steadied herself for a moment and then dove back towards the cliff at an alarming speed.   
  
'If I have to go back to the ground, it's going to be hard and fast, and aimed directly at him,' she thought to herself. She had tucked her wings close to her body so they didn't have to do any work at all, save steer her in the right direction.  
  
Diablomon was still searching when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small object coming at him at a very fast rate. He realized, a second too late, what was happening.  
  
"Oh no........" He said as Gryphonmon crashed into him, knocking him backwards several feet.  
  
Both digimon lay on the ground stunned. Gryphonmon's plan had worked in that she had managed to hurt Diablomon. However, in the process she managed to hurt herself as well.   
  
  
Sora and Biyomon had managed to get all of the digimon out of the cage. All the while the digidestined never noticed what Sora was doing. They were too captivated by the ongoing battle.   
  
Sora walked over to their cage and opened the door. No one noticed as she stepped inside, except for Tai. He had been sitting with his knees tucked underneath his chin near the door. He was still suffering from the affects of Diablomon's treatment.  
  
He saw Sora and smiled. "You came back. Even after I let you down. Please don't be angry with me. I tried to save you, but you slipped through my fingers."  
  
Sora remembered what Gryphonmon had said about her friends acting different. 'That must be what's happening to Tai,' she thought to herself.  
  
Tai got to his feet and put his hands on Sora's shoulders. "Sora, I've missed you so much. I'm sorry that I got you killed. I hope you can forgive one day. I want you to know that you're one of my closest friends and I care for you deeply." With that, Tai placed his head on Sora's shoulder and wept softly.  
  
Sora was stunned. She had no idea that Tai had felt so strongly about their friendship. This strengthened her resolve to help him, and the others, through this.   
  
She gently took Tai's hand and led him out of the cage.  
  
When they were several feet away, she spoke to her digimon. "Biyomon, do me a favor and keep an eye on Tai while I gather the others."  
  
"No problem, Sora." Biyomon replied as she took a seat next to a bewildered Tai.  
  
Sora went back in the cage. She wasn't sure how she was going to break it to her friends that she was still alive and they had an evil digimon to defeat. She decided the direct way was the best.  
  
"Hi guys."  
  
She watched in amusement as all of them froze, and then turned slowly around. One by one their mouths dropped open at the sight of Sora. None of them knew what to do or what to say. A few moments went by when Kari broke the ranks and made her way over to Sora. She gently reached her hand up and touched Sora's cheek.  
  
"Don't worry Kari, I'm as real as you are."  
  
Kari smiled and threw her arms around Sora. This seemed to break everyone out of their trance and they all rushed at her. All of them were laughing, and some were crying with happiness at the same time. Sora was also being bombarded by a zillion questions at once.  
  
"Everyone.....Everyone!! Calm down. We'll save the questions and answers for later. Right now we need to get our digimon and go and help Gryphonmon." Sora said, in her best take charge voice.  
  
Everyone nodded and made their way out of the cage and went and picked up their respective digimon. Only Mimi hung back for a moment with Sora.  
  
"Sora, I just wanted to thank you for standing up for me when Diablomon had me by the throat. I'm the reason you were thrown over the cliff. I almost got you killed." Mimi said quietly, with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Oh Mimi. The important thing is that I'm OK and you're OK. And I would do it again in a heartbeat. You're one of my closest friends, and I would never let anything happen to you." Sora smiled as she hugged Mimi tight.  
  
Mimi returned her friend's hug and smiled. Then they both joined the others.  
  
"OK everyone. Take your digimon and make you're way towards Gryphonmon and Diablomon." Sora said. Everyone quickly complied. All except Tai, who was in no position to carry Agumon.  
  
Sora went over and put Tai's arm over her shoulders. She supported him as she and the others started walking. At the same time, Biyomon was helping Agumon.   
  
  
The two fighting digimon were very slow in getting up. Gryphonmon's maneuver had worked, a little too well.   
  
Diablomon recovered first. "If you think that was going to slow me down you're wrong. Dead wrong. Now it's my turn. Death Grip!!"  
  
A large version of Diablomon's hand appeared. It was mimicking the movement's Diablomon made with his own hand. He made the motion of grabbing something and picking it up. The large hand did the same thing, it picked up Gryphonmon and hoisted her high in the air.  
  
Diablomon was breathing heavily, he was tired and worn out from this battle. "It's time to end this." With that he began to squeeze his hand shut. The giant hand squeezed Gryphonmon.   
  
If I have to crush her to beat her, so be it, Diablomon thought.  
  
Gryphonmon struggled, but there was no way out of the vice like grip. She thought she heard the sound of bones breaking. Her ribcage was being squeezed so hard she couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred and she started feeling herself losing consciousness. Then she heard some voices, one that was very close.  
  
"PUT HER DOWN!!" The digidestined yelled in unison.  
  
Startled at the sight of the digidestined, Diablomon dropped Gryphonmon to the ground. All the digidestined ran up and surrounded the fallen digimon.   
  
"How...How did you get out of your cages?" Diablomon said, completely bewildered.  
  
A stunned Gryphonmon, in a weak voice, spoke up. "I seem to have picked up something you dropped."  
  
Placing Tai gently on the ground, Sora stepped out from behind her friends, making herself visible to Diablomon.  
  
Diablomon was shocked. "But...But you're dead!! I threw you over the edge of the cliff!"  
  
"I fell, but I never hit the ground. Gryphonmon saved me, and now it's my turn to help her. Biyomon Digivolve!"  
  
Biyomon digivolve to.......Birdramon! Birdramon digivolve to..........Garudamon!  
  
Garudamon tackled Diablomon. She had to buy Sora and her friends more time to recover  
  
Garudamon was fighting bravely, but Diablomon was too strong. An Ultimate digimon is no match for a Mega. Diablomon got a few good shots in, and a very weak Garudamon flew back and took position behind her friends.  
  
"It seems that you've lost, Gryphonmon. You and this giant bird are the only capable fighting digimon. Give up and I promise a swift end." Diablomon said.  
  
"I don't think so. I still have one card left to play." Gryphonmon raised her claw in the air. "Healing Touch."  
  
A light blue dome appeared and surrounded the digidestined and the digimon. Slowly, all the unconscious digimon opened their eyes, and their color was returning to normal. The digidestined were recovering as well. Their strength had returned in full force.  
  
"NO!!!!" Diablomon screamed. All of his hard work had been erased in mere seconds.  
  
The dome disappeared and there stood 16 very determined looking individuals, as well as a very injured Gryphonmon.   
  
Tai stood up and presented himself to Diablomon. "Now it's our turn to dole out a little punishment. Let's see how you like living in a nightmare, one that you can't wake up from!" He looked around and everyone nodded. "It's time for a little pay back. Digimon GO!"   
  
"Agumon worp digivolve to.........WarGreymon!"  
  
"Gabumon worp digivolve to.........MetalGarurumon!"   
  
"Gomamon digivolve to Ikkakumon!......Ikkakumon digivolve to Zudomon!"   
  
"Palmon digivolve to Togemon!.......Togemon digivolve to Lillymon!"   
  
"Patamon digivolve to Angemon!........Angemon digivolve to MagnaAngemon!"   
  
"Gatomon digivolve to Angewomon!"   
  
"Tentomon digivolve to Kabuterimon!.......Kabuterimon digivolve to MegaKabuterimon"   
  
Eight extremely angry looking digimon surrounded Diablomon. Diablomon knitted his eyebrows together. "I don't suppose we could talk this out?" He said, shrugging his shoulders.  
  
"Us talking it out has about the same chance as a snowball in your underworld." Lillymon winked at the others as she mocked Diablomon   
  
"Let's Do This!!" MetalGarurumon said. "Metal Wolf Claw!!"  
  
His blast hit Diablomon in the chest, knocking him to the ground. All the other Digimon joined in at the same time.  
  
"Terra Force!"  
  
"Hornbuster!"  
  
"Vulcan's Hammer!"  
  
"Gate of Destiny!"  
  
"Celestial Arrow!"  
  
"Wing Blade!"  
  
"Flower Cannon!"  
  
All their blasts hit the evil digimon simultaneously. Diablomon screamed as the attacks hit him. There was a blinding flash of light and everyone had to cover their eyes.   
  
"Do you think we destroyed him?" Mimi voiced the question that was on everyone's minds.  
  
"We'll find out in a second." Joe replied. "The light is starting to fade."  
  
As the brightness dissipated, everyone uncovered their eyes and gasped at what they saw. Diablomon was still there. He was badly hurt, but he was still standing and looked like he had no intention of giving up. His lips curved into a cruel smile.   
  
"How is that possible? He took everything we got and he's still standing!" Matt said with an exasperated sigh.   
  
"Not everything." Gryphonmon said as she slowly got to her knees. She plunged her sword into the ground and used it to help her stand. Sora rushed to her friend's side.  
  
"What in the digiworld do you think you're doing? You can't fight him. You're wounded and too weak to battle."  
  
Gryphonmon gazed at her friend. "Trust me Sora, I am quite aware of that. Pain is funny that way." She grinned momentarily, but then that grin turned into a painful grimace. "I need to fight him; you know that. You're digimon should save their strength in case I fail." Gryphonmon turned to Tai. "Call them back."  
  
Tai opened his mouth to object, but when he saw the look of determination on Gryphonmon's face, he thought better of it. He motioned to the digimon and they backed away from Diablomon.  
  
Sora knew there was nothing she could say that would stop Gryphonmon from fighting. 'Please be careful,' Sora thought to herself.  
  
Gryphonmon turned with a grin on her face and winked at Sora. "I will."  
  
Sora grinned back, and the rest of the digidestined looked at her with a confused look on their faces.  
  
Gryphonmon made her way to Diablomon, sword in hand. "This ends now. One way or another."  
  
"I couldn't agree more." Diablomon replied, his own sword appearing in his hand.  
  
Both digimon circled each other for a moment. Both were weak and extremely hurt. Finally, Gryphonmon broke their circular dance and lunged at Diablomon. He parried her blow, but just barely. He countered with a thrust of his own, but Gryphonmon easily sidestepped it. As a counter she gave him a left cross right to the rib cage. He grunted and retreated a few steps.  
  
"You continue to surprise me, Gryphonmon. You are a very resilient digimon. Too bad I can't say the same for the rest of your species."  
  
Gryphonmon's eyes glowed blue with rage at this last comment.   
  
"Maybe if they had you're will power they wouldn't have been destroyed by Myotismon in the first place. That little virus that I came up with was ingenious. Too bad it only affected Gryphonmon and DarkGryphonmon. I wish I could have modified it for other digimon species, but I guess I'll take what I can get. After all, it was designed to eliminate the weak and useless!!" Diablomon laughed.  
  
Gryphonmon let out a cry of rage and attacked Diablomon with a fury she had never felt before.  
  
  
The digidestined and their digimon stood off a distance and watched the battle unfold.   
  
Suddenly, Tai called out. "Don't listen to him, Gryphonmon! He's just trying to bait you into making a mistake!!" Tai had to yell to even have a hope of being heard over the sword clashes.  
  
  
Diablomon's plan was working. He had enraged Gryphonmon to the point where she began to make mistakes. A parried blow here, a missed thrust there. Gryphonmon was beginning to tire. Diablomon saw this and launched a counter attack.  
  
First he savagely began attacking with vicious overhead swings of his sword. Gryphonmon could do little more than take a defensive posture to ward off the blows. With a grin, Diablomon changed his strategy. He began aiming for her midsection. While she was defending against those, Diablomon quickly whirled around and changed the direction the sword sweeps had been coming from. Gryphonmon could not get her sword up in time when the blade connected with her arm.  
  
Letting out a painful cry, Gryphonmon staggered back, holding her injured arm. Blood began to seep through her claws and run down her arm.  
  
"Looks like I drew first blood." Diablomon grinned wickedly. He inched closer to Gryphonmon.  
  
Gryphonmon closed her eyes, breathing heavily. She waited as Diablomon closed the gap between them.   
  
Without opening her eyes, in a lightning quick move she lashed out with her sword and caught Diablomon across the side of his face. He let out a scream and turned and retreated a few steps. When he turned back around, the hood he was wearing had a large rip in it. And underneath, there could be seen a very large cut that wept dark red blood.   
  
"Now we're even." Gryphonmon grinned.  
  
Diablomon let out a scream of rage and attacked Gryphonmon.  
  
  
The group of 16 watched uneasily from nearby. They all wanted so badly to jump into the fray.   
  
"We should be helping!" Matt said angrily, punching his fist into the ground in frustration.   
  
"Matt, we fought him all ready and, to be honest, we didn't do much good. It's time to let someone else have a crack at it." Mimi said as gently as she could, placing her hand on Matt's shoulder.   
  
"Mimi's right, Matt. Also, we're on standby in case Gryphonmon needs out help. However, only as a last resort. This battle is something she needs to do on her own." Sora commented.  
  
"But why?" Matt implored.  
  
"She needs to fight her demons. To confront something that has been haunting her for many years. Face it, we've felt something similar at one time or another. Like when I needed a little time away from you guys, or when Matt went off by himself, to figure some things out. Some things we have to face alone, no matter how much our friends want to help us." Sora turned and looked at her new friend, and silently prayed for her safety.  
  
  
The battle raged on, neither of the combatants wanting to surrender. However, their bodies were giving out much faster than their will power. They had separated from their deadly dance. Both stood there, tired and breathing heavily.  
  
"Are you ready to give up?" Diablomon asked.  
  
Gryphonmon arched an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Just thought I'd ask." Diablomon said as he readied his sword and charged at her.  
  
Both fought with their last bit of strength. By chance, Gryphonmon was able to knock the sword from Diablomon's hand with a powerful strike. It landed in the grass a few feet away. Diablomon fell to his knees and Gryphonmon held her sword to his throat. She raised her sword up for the death blow.  
  
Those few seconds were all Diablomon needed. Using his last bit of energy he focused on his sword lying on the ground. With a flick of his wrist the sword flew through the air and plunged deep into Gryphonmon's midsection.  
  
Gryphonmon's eyes went wide. She fell to one knee, her own sword falling from her hand. She peered at the sinister blade that had pierced her. Blood poured from the wound in a massive quantity. Her vision was growing blurry as she could no longer remain upright. She fell to the ground and rolled onto her back. Then she moved no more.   
  
Diablomon got up and walked over to the fallen digimon. Using both hands he pulled the sword out of her, smiling as he did so.  
  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sora scream pierced the air. She had just witnessed the unimaginable. Diablomon has just killed Gryphonmon. A single tear traced a path down Sora's cheek as she covered her face with her hands.   
  
Diablomon turned to face the digidestined. "It seems that your friend has failed. It was a pity I couldn't take her soul before she died. I'll just have to settle for your souls instead." He began to make his way towards them.   
  
Angewomon was the first to attack. "Celestial Arrow!" 'That was for Kari,' she thought silently to herself.   
  
The arrow imbedded itself deep in Diablomon's shoulder and he let out a painful cry. He took a moment to remove it from his shoulder and then he continued to advance.   
  
"Death Grip."   
  
Diablomon caught Angewomon with the large version of his hand and slammed her into the ground with sickening force. When the hand let go, a wounded Gatomon lay unconscious on the ground.   
  
  
From a small distance away, a pair of eagle eyes slowly opened and quietly observed what was going on.  
  
  
The other digimon tried their best to fight this evil digimon, but it was to no avail. Diablomon used his Forever Darkness, which took out Lillymon, Zudomon, and MetalGarurumon. Then he used his Underworld Inferno and defeated both MagnaAngemon and MegaKabuterimon. The only two digimon left to fight were Garudamon and WarGreymon. They fought bravely, but Diablomon just wore them out. He simply avoided their attacks and then countered with his own. Completely drained of energy, they had no choice but to reverse digivolve back to their rookie forms.  
  
All the digidestined huddled together as the evil digimon approached them. A mixture of fear and hatred could be seen on all the faces of the group.   
  
"I have managed to defeat everything you have thrown at me. I am the supreme victor, and now your souls will belong to me for all eternity......" Diablomon babbled on in typical bad guy fashion.  
  
  
Gryphonmon rolled on her side. The wound on her torso was very serious. 'I might not be able to survive this one,' she thought to herself. But while there was still an ounce of strength in her body, she was not going to let Diablomon hurt her new friends. She slowly began crawling towards Diablomon and the digidestined, leaving a trail of blood on the ground in her wake.  
  
"......As you can see I am now evil personified. I'm the one who finally defeated the digidestined! But, enough of that. I know exactly who's soul I'm going to take first." He pointed directly at Sora. "Fate was gracious enough to save you and give me another chance to own your soul, and this time I will not waste it." He reached down and grabbed Sora and brought her close to his face. Sora didn't resist at all. Watching her friend be killed took any energy she had left out of her.  
  
"Leave her alone!" Tai yelled. He had lost Sora once, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. Diablomon flicked his gaze towards Tai. He smirked and then waved his hand through the air. Tai was flung backwards and he hit a nearby tree. He fell to the ground, moaning and barely conscious.  
  
The rest of the digidestined looked at their fallen leader. Kari and Joe went to his side. Everyone knew there was nothing they could do to stop this evil digimon. They had truly been defeated. In their depression, they didn't notice that Gryphonmon was making her way slowly towards them.   
  
Diablomon turned his attention back to Sora. "You're a lot braver than I gave you credit for. That, or you're a lot more foolish than I gave you credit for. I haven't decided which fits you better. Look into my eyes, and give your soul to me."  
  
Sora was avoiding Diablomon's eyes. She tried looking in any other direction, but something strong was compelling her to look at him. She shut her eyes tight, and waited for the end to come.   
  
Two blue beams sliced through the air and hit Diablomon square in the back. He screamed in pain and rage and loosened his grip on Sora. Sora struggled and finally got herself free. She dropped to the ground and ran to join her friends.  
  
There was a giant scorch mark on Diablomon's back. With a murderous look in his eye, he turned around to face who had attacked him.  
  
"YOU!!" Diablomon could not believe his eyes. "You're supposed to be dead!"  
  
"You seem to be saying that a lot today. You must be losing your touch." Gryphonmon shot back.  
  
Diablomon, sword in hand, rushed at Gryphonmon. "Why. Can't. You. Just. Stay. Dead?!?" He said, biting off every syllable.  
  
"Because my work on this world isn't done. Fate is funny like that." Gryphonmon replied between sword blows.   
  
The digidestined, especially Sora, were happy to see their friend alive. As they watched the battle, each of their crests began to glow.  
  
"What's happening?" Mimi asked.  
  
"If I could venture a guess, I would say that Gryphonmon is making our crests glow." Izzy replied.  
  
"And just how did you come to that conclusion?" Matt inquired.  
  
"Think about it. Each of our crests represents a certain trait; Courage, Friendship, Sincerity, Knowledge, Reliability, Love, Hope and Light. I think they're glowing because Gryphonmon has a little of each trait within her, and our crests are responding to that. She's giving us power just as we are giving her power." Izzy stated with confidence.   
  
Suddenly, 8 beams of light, one from every crest, hit Gryphonmon. They surrounded her in a white, unearthly glow.  
  
Her eyes, which now glowed white, stared at Diablomon. He retreated several steps.  
  
"What....What's going on?" Diablomon had just a bit of trembling in his voice.  
  
"Just as the light defeats the darkness, good shall always triumph over evil. All it takes, is a little help from our friends." She turned slightly and grinned at everyone.  
  
"Healing Touch." Gryphonmon used her power to fully heal the digimon. As a result they all digivolved to there most powerful states. The 8 digimon and Gryphonmon then surrounded Diablomon.   
  
For the first time, Diablomon had a look of real fear in his eyes, as they unleashed their attacks.  
  
"Terra Force!"  
  
"Metal Wolf Claw!"  
  
"Hornbuster!"  
  
"Vulcan's Hammer!"  
  
"Gate of Destiny!"  
  
"Celestial Arrow!"  
  
"Wing Blade!"  
  
"Flower Cannon!"  
  
Empowered by her new friends, Gryphonmon unleashed the final attack.  
  
"Sword of Light."  
  
A white beam shot from the blade of the sword with great force, and hit Diablomon at the same moment the other attacks did. There was a very large explosion, and everyone turned and covered their eyes to avoid being blinded.  
  
In the aftermath they all saw Diablomon lying on the ground. He let out a final ragged breath and then he moved no more. Slowly, his body dematerialized as a result of him being deleted. The souls that made up his cloak were no longer under his control. They floated in the air for a few moments and then slowly faded away. The souls that he had held prisoner for so long were finally free. There was no longer any moaning, but instead the noise now sounded somewhat like laughter.  
  
Everyone stood there in silence. Everyone was in shock, but just for a moment. All the digimon reversedigivolved and everyone had let out a cheer. They had finally beaten this evil digimon. Good had finally triumphed over evil, just like Gryphonmon had said.  
  
Everyone gathered under the tree to tend to Tai and to relax after the last couple of days. Gryphonmon moved to join her friends, but she only made it a couple of steps before collapsing to the ground.   
  
"Oh no." Sora said as she noticed Gryphonmon's prone form lying on the ground. She broke into a run as she made her way to the wounded digimon, with everyone else close on her heels.   
  
"Gryphonmon? Gryphonmon, please wake up. Don't leave us." Kari pleaded as she looked at the digimon.  
  
Gryphonmon had her eyes closed and she was laying extremely still. At the sound of Kari's voice she slowly opened her eyes.  
  
"Don't worry, little one. I'm still here. Although I'm not sure for how much longer." Gryphonmon gave Kari and the rest of the digidestined a weak smile.  
  
Joe approached and began to look at Gryphonmon's many wounds. After a few moments, he took off his glasses and wiped his eyes. The damage to her body was too extensive to repair, and she had all ready lost a lot of blood from the wound to her midsection. He sighed, and sadly shook his head.  
  
Gryphonmon looked at Joe with a wary eye. "OK doctor, give me the bad news first."  
  
"I'm sorry Gryphonmon. Your wounds are just too numerous. I'm afraid that you don't have much time left. I'm sorry there's no good news." Joe replied morosely.   
  
"I think Diablomon being gone is the good news." Gryphonmon grinned, but after a moment she sighed. "Well, I was wondering if you could do me a favor. Help me move, and just prop me up against that tree. I don't want to die lying here."  
  
Matt got under one of Gryphonmon's arms and Joe got under the other. They succeeded in moving the digimon to beneath the tree. Joe proceeded to bandage some of the nastier wounds. He did this to try and relieve some of the pain. Mimi and TK gathered some wood and then Agumon started a fire.   
  
For awhile, Sora and Gryphonmon were bombarded by a million questions. Sora fielded most of the questions while Gryphonmon rested. After awhile, the digidestined and their digimon began falling asleep. They had a very busy day after all, and they were looking forward to some pleasant dreams for a change. Pretty soon, everyone was asleep, save for Gryphonmon and Sora. Sora took a seat next to her friend at the base of the tree.  
  
Sora watched the fire dance for a moment before she spoke. "Do you have closure now that you have defeated the digimon that destroyed your people?"  
  
Gryphonmon's breathing was ragged and slow. It took a few seconds for her to answer. "It was a hollow victory. Diablomon was defeated, but it didn't make the pain I feel inside go away. I still miss DarkGryphonmon and all the rest of my kind. Destroying him didn't bring any of them back. I'm still the only Gryphonmon left. And soon my kind will be extinct forever."  
  
Sora could feel tears start to form. "Please, I don't want you to go." She said quietly.  
  
Gryphonmon had her eyes squeezed shut, as if she were trying to keep control. After a moment, she spoke. "Trust me, if I had a choice in the matter I would stay here with all of you. Sadly, though, fate has other plans for me. It's cruel, in a way. Letting me find you and the others only to take you away so soon. Sora, thanks to you, and the rest of the digidestined, I no longer feel alone." A single tear traced a path down Gryphonmon's cheek.  
  
Sora smiled sadly and laid her head on Gryphonmon's shoulder. Gryphonmon placed her wing around Sora. They sat in silence for a little while.  
  
Sora broke the silence. "Why do you believe in such things like fate and destiny? You mention them a lot."  
  
Gryphonmon chuckled and then grimaced in pain, the action obviously hurting her. "I like to believe that everything happens for a reason. A means to an end, if you will. Think about it. Why did you go to summer camp?"  
  
Confused by the question, Sora paused. "To have fun over the summer, I guess." She finally answered.  
  
"That's part of it. But maybe you were fated to go to summer camp. Everything you ever did in your life was leading up to that specific point. By going to summer camp, you found your digivice and begin your journey as one of the digidestined. You were fated to do everything you have done up to this point."  
  
"What about beyond this point in time?" Sora inquired.  
  
"It could also all ready be planned out. That's why they call it destiny."  
  
Sora nodded, starting to understand. "Perhaps, or maybe we just make everything up as we go along."   
  
"That's possible as well. But I think that everything in ours lives happens for a reason. Although, it may not be a reason we can see or even hope to understand." Gryphonmon replied.   
  
Sora gazed at her friend. Gryphonmon was blinking a lot. She seemed to be trying, in vain, to keep her eyes open.  
  
Worry lines creased Sora's forehead when she realized what was happening. "Oh no." Her voice quavered. Please don't close your eyes. You may never open them again." She pleaded with her friend.  
  
Gryphonmon took Sora's hand in her claw and gave it gentle squeeze. "Don't be afraid. I'm not."  
  
Tears fell from Sora's eyes. Gryphonmon drew her into a hug. Sora wept into Gryphonmon shoulder. Gryphonmon silently held her friend while she cried. Her time was growing short, she could feel it. Gryphonmon reached over and plucked a white feather out of her wing. She then stuck it in the brim of Sora's hat, without her knowing it.   
  
'Just something for her to remember me by.' Gryphonmon thought.  
  
Gryphonmon suddenly felt very peaceful. She smiled slightly. Her pain, both emotional and physical, had finally ended.   
  
"Good-bye Sora." She whispered as she closed her eyes for the last time.  
  
Sora broke the embrace when she heard Gryphonmon's last words. She looked at the digimon's face. Gryphonmon looked so peaceful. Sora stroked Gryphonmon's cheek with her gloved hand. There was no response. Tears continued to stream down Sora's face.  
  
"Good-bye, Gryphonmon." She said quietly. She watched as Gryphonmon's body slowly began to dematerialize. When it had disappeared, all that remained were the bandages Joe had applied.  
  
Sora now sat alone under the tree. She drew her legs up close to her and wrapped her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees and stared into the fire, crying all the while.  
  
Tai awakened to the sound of muffled sobs. He looked around and saw Sora sitting by the fire. She had her back to him. Everyone else seemed to be asleep, so he concluded that it must be Sora who was crying. He did a quick count in his head. It took him a moment to realize that someone was missing.  
  
"Oh no......." Tai realized that Gryphonmon was gone. Sadden by this realization, he got up slowly and made his way to where Sora was.  
  
Tai knelt by Sora and put a hand on her shoulder.   
  
"She's gone, Tai. She's........gone." Sora's voice was barely above a whisper.  
  
"I know, Sora. Her wounds were just too severe. It was amazing that she survived for as long as she did. I'm sure she's in a much better place now, with the rest of her kind." Tai said gently.  
  
"I wish she could of stayed with us."  
  
"Me too, Sora. Me too."  
  
Sora laid her head on Tai's shoulder. In response, Tai put his arm around Sora. They sat in silence for awhile, leaning against the tree. Sora soon fell asleep. Tai looked down at her tear stained face. He would have given anything to take away the pain she was feeling. His eyes strayed to the feather that was in the brim of her cap. He smiled.  
  
"Thank you, Gryphonmon." It was the last thing Tai said before he also fell asleep.   
  
  
The next morning, Agumon woke up rather early. It was chilly so he decided to restart the fire. As he ambled over, he saw Sora and Tai underneath the tree. A smile tugged at his lips as he unleashed a Pepper Breath.  
  
Tai slowly opened his eyes when he heard his friend. Agumon was grinning at him.  
  
"What's so funny? Why are you smiling like that?" Tai asked.  
  
"Because I think you guys look cute together."  
  
Tai narrowed his eyes. "You better be quiet."  
  
"And why is that, Tai? Afraid it might be true?" Agumon asked, still grinning his head off.  
  
"Because you'll wake her up. Now stop making noise."  
  
"Sure, Tai. Whatever you say." Agumon was enjoying ribbing his friend about this.   
  
"I'm serious Agumon. Gryphonmon passed away last night. Sora is really upset and I want her to sleep as long as possible. At least when she's asleep, she's not sad or in any pain." Tai gazed at Sora's sleeping form.  
  
"Oh no. I'm sorry, I had no idea." Agumon said, with sadness in his voice.   
  
"It's OK, buddy." Tai replied. "Let's get some more rest, since we don't know when we'll have the same opportunity again." Tai settled down and closed his eyes, and was soon sound asleep.   
  
Augmon sat by the fire, warming himself. A short while passed and the other digimon woke up and joined him.  
  
"Wow, I haven't slept that good since....well, never." Gomamon commented. After stretching, he looked around. "Hey, we seem to be short a digimon." He commented, slightly confused.  
  
"Gryphonmon didn't live through the night." Agumon said sadly.   
  
Everyone sat in silence for a moment, remembering their friend.  
  
Palmon spoke up. "I thought that good was supposed to triumph over evil. If that's true, then why did evil end up killing Gryphonmon?"  
  
"Good cannot win over evil without some sacrifices." Gatomon interjected. "From what you have told me, a lot of good digimon ended up being deleted in your battles with all the evil digimon. Whamon, Pixiemon, Chuumon, Numemon, Leomon, etc. were all deleted for helping your cause. Their sacrifice was not in vain though. They helped you win your battles, in the end. They helped the good triumph over the evil."  
  
"It's still not fair." Patamon said.  
  
"There's not much in life that is fair. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is." Gatomon said with finality.  
  
"This from the former evil digimon herself. Tell me Gatomon, how many good digimon did you destroy?" Gomamon said, with venom in his voice.  
  
"You better watch it, flipper boy." Gatomon hissed.   
  
Kari was awakened by the bickering. "What's going on?" She said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.  
  
"Gatomon and Gomamon are fighting." Gabumon replied.  
  
Gomamon and Gatomon were nose to nose, shouting at each other. Kari walked over and picked up her digimon.  
  
"Stop it, you two. We're all on the same side here. I will not have you two fighting, are we clear?" Kari said, in all seriousness.  
  
Both digimon stared at the ground. "Yes Kari." They both said in unison.   
  
The sound of Kari's voice woke up Sora. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. After a moment she realized that she was leaning against Tai and he had his arm around her. She smiled and gently slipped out of his embrace. She stood up and saw the rest of friends sleeping. A little ways away she saw Kari with all of their digimon. In seeing the digimon a wave of sadness swept over Sora. She realized once again that Gryphonmon was really gone. Careful not to make any noise she went for a walk, heading back towards the cliff.   
  
Sora stopped several feet away from the edge and sat down. She didn't want to tempt fate again, so it was better to stay slightly away from the edge. She gazed out over the horizon and watched the rising sun peek through the clouds.  
  
She sat there, with her knees drawn up close to her. She put her hands on her head, when her fingertips brushed against something. She took off her hat to see what it was.   
  
A large white feather was sticking out of the brim of her hat. She plucked it out and held it in her hand. She smiled sadly.  
  
"I miss you Gryphonmon. I hope, wherever you are, you've found the peace you were looking for."  
  
Sora got up and put her hat back on. She stuck the memento Gryphonmon had left her back in the brim and turned around, making her way back to her friends.  
  
As she walked, the daylight finally broke through the clouds and covered the land. A land that had been finally freed from an evil digimon, and was now also deprived of a good one.   
  
The feather glinted in the sunlight of the new day.  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Notes: You might be wondering why I gave Tai and Izzy multiple dreams. It's not because I favor them in particular. I think it was more just spur of the moment, and that it was easy to think up multiple dreams for those two in particular.   
  
For those of you who liked my Gryphonmon character, I may bring her back for a future fic. After all, we don't know if she was infected with the virus or not:)  
  
For all those Gomamon fans out there, I'm sorry that I made him look like he's always ready to pick a fight, but I think that's how he would act under stress and what not. He is always ready to battle, you know that much is true.   
  
More Author's Comments: Well, that's about it. What did you think? Should I write more, or don't quit my day job?:) Anyway. It's kind of obvious that I'm a fan of the Tai and Sora being together. I'm also like the idea of Joe and Mimi, or possibly Matt and Mimi together. (I might explore those some more in future fics. Some of my fellow authors all ready have done that and have done a splendid job from all the ones I read.) Do you agree? Disagree? Think I'm on crack? Whatever you think, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for reading.  
  



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